Preparations for the Winter
by psychmaster
Summary: Odin has taken notice of the bright and thoughtful Lady Sigyn. He betroths her to his son Loki, but was the decision he made a truly wise one? And how will Loki and Sigyn grow within and around their engagement, both together and as individuals? Loki/Sigyn, currently pre-Thor.
1. Chapter 1

It was unusual to see the All-Father away from the palace when Asgard was not in times of war. His councils all came to him, and his children confined their playing to the royal grounds with the Asgardian young that had the honor of associating with Odin's sons. So when Odin had been seen outside of the royal grounds, even if it was just in the lands of the noble houses, whispers broke out among some Asgardians. Had a noble angered him, and had he come to administer personal justice?

The truth, though, was not quite so unpleasant. It was in fact a favored family that had called upon him, and for a much more innocent reason, though still of great importance.

Odin only had to place a foot upon the doorstep of the household before the doors promptly sprang open for him. Servants scurried to welcome the All-Father and remove any conceivable inconvenience in his way while a man stepped out and bowed respectfully. "My king. My greatest thanks for your presence here today."

"You may rise, Lord Haenir," Odin said gently, giving a small smile and placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "It is not such a grave occasion that brings me here today."

Lord Haenir was back on his feet in an instant and nodded. "Then I shall not waste your time with unnecessary pleasantries. Please follow me; she is here."

They walked together through the grand house, winding their way through hallways adorned with ornate tapestries, passing beautiful sitting rooms and elegant stairways. Lord Haenir stopped at a well crafted closed door and knocked firmly. "The king approaches," he announced, and opened the door.

Inside, a young girl of six or seven years of age stood very straight and very primly, looking every inch the proper nobleman's daughter. She had blonde hair that waved very slightly, but was secured behind her head with delicate, ornamental hairpieces. She wore a small pretty dress colored with faded browns, pinks, and whites that looked precisely clean and cared for, which was to say, it looked as if it never been worn before. Odin rather imagined that she wore this dress specifically for his arrival, and was likely quite uncomfortable in it. However, she acted as if it bore her no mind, and she bowed low. "It is an honor to be visited by you, my king," she said in a high, but unwavering voice.

Odin smiled and said, "Rise, Lady Sigyn. It would seem we have much to speak of." She straightened up and stood still, looking up at him. Odin turned to Lord Haenir. "I will conduct my business with the young lady alone, if it should please you. I shall tell you of the news of our meeting when we adjourn."

Lord Haenir blinked in surprise, but composed himself in an instance. "Of course, my king," he murmured deferentially and gave a significant look to the young girl, who seemed to stand straighter and stiller at its delivery. He bowed his head once more and shut the door to the room.

Odin glanced once more at Sigyn, but turned his attention to the room. It had a red canopy bed that he was pleased to see was not overly large for a child. The window of the room overlooked a lush garden with flowers of every color. Odin noticed that the tassels holding the curtains in front of the window open looked very new and stiff. The curtains were typically closed, then, and the lovely view blocked. There was a small, practical desk next to the window, and the cushion on the chair in it looked well worn. And then there were the books.

In place of the usual toys and dolls that one would usually expect to see in a child's room, there were instead shelves filled with books hanging on the wall and neatly arranged piles of books on the floor. There were storybooks, books about Asgardian history, books about the cosmos and what lay among them. The books that were in a stack closest to the desk looked to be mostly about magic, though Odin spotted one title that mentioned the World Tree.

As Odin surveyed the room, Sigyn grew more and more nervous, but knew better than to fidget in front of the king. She settled instead for freezing herself as still as a statue, though some remnants of apprehension remained on her face. Did the All-Father think her strange, just as her parents did? Hopefully not _quite_ as strange, or her father would be very disappointed indeed.

Odin finally turned his attention back to Sigyn, and she resolutely maintained eye contact, despite her insecurity. She was not sure if she was relieved that he did not comment on the books, but was certainly settled by the smile he then directed at her. "So!" Odin boomed, now looking more jovial. "Lady Sigyn, do you know why I meet you today?"

Sigyn nodded a bit stiffly. "Yes, my king," she said, "My father has asked for your assistance in finding me a husband."

"So it would seem. But you are very pretty for such a young girl, and I should think that you will grow into a beautiful woman. Not only this, but you are the only child to a family of high class. Why, then, do you think your father doubt your future prospects, hm?"

Sigyn blinked in confusion. Why, he could see the room as clear as day. Was this a rhetorical question?

She decided to err on the safe side, opting not to ignore a direct question from the All-Father. "My father worries that I spend too much of my time by myself. I…I enjoy reading," she faltered, then gave a small nod towards a nearby pile. "As…you can see." Sigyn swallowed as much as she dared, not knowing for certain what movements were permitted for her to make. Her father had made it quite clear that she was not to act impudently in front of the king under any circumstances.

"Ho," Odin muttered, seemingly to himself, "so he imagines that you will lock yourself away to read your life away, never to be seen by the eyes of men." He chuckled deeply, and looked back at Sigyn. "Tell me, then, my young lady Sigyn, do you think that is the life you shall lead?"

"I hope not, my king," she responded, and promptly gave herself a mental kick. She should have surely answered with confidence that she would make every effort to go out and present herself as a desirable spouse, not given a remark that made her sound as if the decision was out of her hands!

Odin raised his eyebrows. "You hope not, Lady Sigyn? But what you hoped was not the question I asked; what sort of life do you _think_ you will lead?"

Sigyn opened her mouth for a moment, then closed it again. _Think about what you say,_ she told herself sternly. _Everything word you speak will be taken into account._ "I think," she began carefully, "that should I continue as I am, I would read a great many books, and I would learn much from my reading." She pursed her lips, then swallowed again. "I do not think, though, that I would stay alone. I would still marry and give my father the grandchildren he so desires. But I think he is not so optimistic."

Odin nodded his head, as if in complete understanding of this point of view. "So, it is to be the books or a husband," he said, now sounding quite grave. "Tell me, then. Which do you choose?"

Sigyn stared, as if not quite comprehending the question.

Giving her a moment to process the proposed ultimatum, he repeated, "If you must choose between your books and a husband, which do you choose?" He smiled as Sigyn's eyes darted around the room, as if searching for the correct way to answer the question. Or perhaps looking to see if anyone was around to hear her answer. Odin went down on one knee to look her better in the eye and said to her reassuringly, "I know not if you truly must choose in your future. But I wish to know what you would do confronted with the choice. I swear to you that your answer will remain only known to me. Your father will hear none of it."

For the first time since Odin arrived in the room, Sigyn trembled slightly. The king knelt before her for her answer. The _king_. Knelt before _her_. And try as she might, she knew quite well the answer out of her mouth was going to be. She looked down and took a deep breath. "My king. If to gain a husband I had to abandon my books, then…then I should lock myself away in my room and never leave again!" Her voice had risen to a shout. She immediately clamped her mouth shut and squeezed her eyes closed in shame, waiting for Odin to pronounce her a lost cause. _Now look what you've done._

But to Sigyn's great surprise, as she waited with her eyes closed and her body stiff and aching, the sound that washed over her ears was a single peal of booming laughter. Cautiously, she opened one eye at a time to see Odin with his eyes now gleaming excitedly. "Ha! What a spirit you have!" he exclaimed, rising to his feet once again. "There is more to you than meets the eye, Lady Sigyn, I should think!" He returned to examining her once again, and Sigyn was quick to straighten, holding her hands behind her back and telling herself to keep calm. She was almost always quiet and observing, surely it should not be so difficult. And for some reason, Odin now seemed to have taken to her behavior. Perhaps her father need not worry after all; if she could continue to keep the king in such a mood, a betrothal could not be so difficult to obtain.

"Well then," Odin rumbled, and Sigyn looked him in the eyes once more. "may I ask you, Lady Sigyn, what you think of the Frost Giants?"

She tilted her head to the side ever so slightly and frowned, not expecting the question. What could the purpose of such a question be, except perhaps to test her valiance? …_Oh._ "The Frost Giants?" she inquired, widening her eyes and striving to appear a bit afraid. "Why, they are terrible. And, um. Very frightening. I should hope never to encounter one, or I should surely die a horrible death."

Odin looked down on her and frowned, furrowing his brow. "Lady Sigyn, you have much farther to go in improving your liecraft." He curled the fingers of his right hand around his beard and narrowed his eyes. "But such an answer you give as a lie! Why, do you wish to be seen as a coward? I assure you, a woman of great courage is a very promising wife!"

Odin's response let Sigyn know that she was taking a chance right now, but she was sure the alternative would not be so pleasant for her. She did her best to not let her face waver and tried to sound more earnest. "But, my king, I am certainly no fighter! I should never be able to keep up with those who go and fight them. And, um," she said, fumbling a bit, "if my husband were to fight Frost Giants, I would surely live my life in terrible fear."

Odin raised his eyebrows at the answer. "Do you try to dissuade me from choosing a warrior for your husband?"

The wide eyed look faded somewhat from Sigyn's face. "You are not trying to appraise me as a match?" she asked, confusion tinting the question.

They stared at each other for a long moment, and suddenly, Odin threw his head back in laughter. Sigyn jumped slightly at the change, and blinked as she tried in vain to reassess the situation. "Oho, I see your game!" he bellowed, and she did her best to stand still again. She was not sure if she had ruined everything or not. "You wish to turn my pick as your husband in your favor! Did you think that if you had not, I should have chosen Thor as your betrothed?" he asked her, chuckles still rumbling through his body. Sigyn could only nod dumbly, no longer sure why Odin has posed his last question. "Ah, you are a tricky girl, Lady Sigyn," he said with a sigh, his mirth finally dying out. "Clever and quick witted, but not one for impulse, eh? I imagine that you think deeply on your actions before making a decision, do you not?"

"I…should think so?" Sigyn replied, now certain that the conversation had completely escaped her grasp.

"Yes, you should," Odin said, now nodding and stroking his chin. "Yes, you shall make a great wife indeed." He turned on his heel and opened the door to the room. Lord Haenir jumped to his feet at attention outside the room, looking his best to appear as if he had not been pressed to the door frame in an attempt to listen to the conversation. He cursed to himself that he had chosen to make the walls and doors of his household so thick.

"Lord Haenir!" Odin boomed, "I have made my decision. The Lady Sigyn shall be betrothed to Loki, my son. May she grow more and more beautiful in the days that lead up to their wedding!"

Lord Haenir opened his eyes wide and smiled with gratitude. "This…this is wonderful news, my king!" he said excitedly. "Your judgment is truly wise, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart." He looked towards Sigyn, who was still in her room looking stunned, and he jerked his head as much as he dared towards Odin, giving her an expectant look. She promptly sprang from her stiff stance into a deep and practiced curtsy. "I am honored by your choice, All-Father, and am filled with gratitude at your wisdom," she murmured, still trying to take in the events of the last several seconds.

"Nay, my child," Odin said with a knowing smile towards her still bent form, "I suspect, in the future, it is your wisdom that we shall all benefit from." With that, the All-Father swept away, and Lord Haenir was swift to summon a servant to lead Odin back to the grounds.

* * *

"Father, Father!" a young voice cried out in excitement, and Odin was greeted by two sprinting young boys back in the royal palace. "We missed you, Father!" Thor shouted, coming to a stop before Odin. Normal little boys would have thrown themselves into their father's arms, but Thor was a prince. He had to maintain some decorum, after all.

"Where were you, Father?" Loki asked, panting as he reached Odin second. "We looked for you everywhere and I told Thor that you must have left the palace and he didn't believe me and said that a king never has reason to leave the palace, everyone must always come to him but I was sure we looked in every room for you and even some of the tunnels I found behind the tapestries so you must have left the palace, right?"

Odin chuckled at Loki's long-winded question, which had left him even more out of breath than when he had come running. "I was indeed out of the palace, my sons, on business that I could not conduct here." Loki smirked proudly at Thor, who pouted in response and tugged on Odin's robe, asking, "But then where _were_ you, Father? What did you need to leave for?"

Odin patted Thor's head, and he reluctantly let go, though he still looked up at his father expectantly. "Why, I was visiting the home of one of Asgard's nobles, and I return with glad tidings!" Odin announced. He turned to Loki and knelt down in front of him. "Loki, I have betrothed you to the Lady Sigyn, daughter of Lord Haenir. She shall make you a lovely wife, my son."

Loki's and Thor's eyes both widened at the news. "Loki has a wife now?" Thor asked, turning to look at his brother, then immediately turning back to Odin. "Why does Loki have a wife now? Can't I have a wife too, Father? Will you bring me one too?" Thor pleaded.

Odin barked out a laugh. "Perhaps one day, my son. Or perhaps one day, when you have grown into a man, you shall choose your own wife!" he said with a cackle. Thor frowned at the fact that 'one day' did not sound to be any time soon. Loki glanced at Thor and ducked his head to hide a smile, but quickly looked back up to Odin. "Will I get to meet her soon, Father?" Loki inquired.

"Yes, I should think so, my son," Odin said, taking a hand each from Loki and Thor into his own and began to walk back into the throne room. "She spends much of her time reading, but I think we may be able to tear her away from her books just long enough to visit us all."

"Reading?" Thor piped up to Odin's left. "She sounds boring!"

Odin smiled at his firstborn, who Odin had known very quickly would have never been a suitable husband for Sigyn. "Oh, my son," he said, almost to himself, "I think you might find she is much less boring than you might think."

* * *

**I wrote this entirely on a whim, and I have ideas for where I want this story to go, but I'm going to be honest: these ideas are currently very vague. What I do know is that this story is most likely going to be following through the events of Thor and its possible sequel through The Avengers eventually, but of course, we're going to get through some childhood before we get there. Also, I have no idea how age works in Asgard, so when I say Sigyn is six or seven, I do mean like a six or seven-year-old human child. I have not read the comics, so none of the characters in my story will reflect any of the characters in them; movies only! I also started writing this before reading a great number of already existing Loki/Sigyn fics, so the usual fanon isn't going to apply here: her parents are not Freyja and Iwaldi, she's not one of the Vanir, and she doesn't have any siblings (if any of this was in the comics, I apologize. Again, I haven't read them). She is a legitimate Asynja in her own right, and I'll be making up any more of her history as I go along.**

**Also, this is my first fic, so please: all tips, hints, criticisms, and advice are welcome and desired. Give me some feedback! I want to provide you all with a good reading experience!**


	2. Chapter 2

Sigyn was now often at the Asgardian palace. She was encouraged by her parents to be as sociable as possible and play with the other children.

Playing, though, was only one thing the palace had to offer. The royal library was so large and beautiful that Thor literally had to drag Sigyn away the first time they happened to pass it by, stunned and gaping as she was. She knew that she was likely not supposed to be spending all her time reading again, but she couldn't possibly pass up opportunities to read the plethora of material presented to her. She even managed to convince the palace librarian to take some books home when she left.

But along with books, she also got lessons. Though her mother had taught her how to embroider, at the palace Sigyn learned how to weave cloth from scratch. She was taught how to play the harp and of the nine realms that made up the World Tree, Yggdrasil. But what Sigyn most looked forward to, and what she was best at, were the lessons on sorcery.

Not many of the other children who would frequent the palace had the patience for lessons in magic. Thor was notoriously bad at it, unable to keep control over even simple light and heat spells. He would often abandon these lessons for more time practicing in the battle arenas, leaving Sigyn and Loki the only two who would attend regularly.

Even knowing that they were betrothed to one another, Loki and Sigyn were not quite sure how to approach and treat each other about it. They were yet young, and it did not truly mean much between them. On the occasions that Loki mentioned it, it was almost always in a joking manner. It was true, though, that they liked many similar things, Loki sometimes joining her in her afternoons reading in the library. However, their personalities were dissimilar in many ways; Sigyn was usually shy and reserved, while Loki was notoriously wayward but still charming.

Sigyn's interactions with children other than the princes were usually limited. They all tended to flock to Thor and enjoyed battle more than anything else. Whatever Odin had thought of Sigyn when she had tried to avoid a possible betrothal to Thor, she was still sure that the risk had been worth it. But the other kids usually did not mind her and were kind enough when they spoke to her, which was not particularly often. The same, though, could not be said for their attitudes towards the younger prince.

* * *

"_LOKI!"_ screeched a girl's voice. Sigyn looked up from her book at the noise and pursed her lips. She wondered if she should try and find some place to hide and finish reading; she was so very close.

"_DO YOU HIDE FROM ME, SNAKE? I SHALL HUNT YOU DOWN AND SLAY YOU WHERE YOU STAND!_" Sigyn sighed and got up. She should at least try to stop the Lady Sif from killing the prince in a rage. Sigyn found the shouts quite easy to follow, and in less than a minute, turned into a hallway only to be passed by a yelling, rampaging blur, followed by the band of Thor's friends who had begun to call themselves the Warriors Three.

"Ah, Lady Sigyn!" Fandral called out, somewhat in relief. "Perhaps you can calm our woman warrior, eh?"

"What ails the Lady Sif?" Sigyn asked, stepping closer towards the boys before turning to the figure at the end of the hall that was slowing down its sprint. "Has Loki cursed her with some…ah."

Sigyn's voice faltered to a stop as Sif finally stopped and turned to look at her. All of her long black hair had been messily chopped off. Her hair was now more reminiscent of a beggar child rather than a noble warrior lady. "_You,_" Sif hissed.

Sigyn blinked and stepped back on reflex at the venom directed at her. "…I?"

"You are a cohort of that snake of a prince!" Sif snapped at her, now advancing on Sigyn slowly. "How dare you lure me into such a false state where such damage might be inflicted on me?"

"I have done no such thing," Sigyn replied warily, now retreating in step with Sif's advances on her. Volstagg and Hogun quickly ran to Sif and took hold of her arms just as she was about to break into another sprint. "Do not lie to me!" she growled, struggling to break free in her thirst for vengeance. "It was you who soothed me to sleep as you brushed my hair in the gardens! My hair was in this state when I awoke, and you and your precious prince had vanished!"

"I have not even been in the gardens today," Sigyn protested, holding out her book. "I was only reading in the palace."

"A likely story!" Sif snapped at her. Still holding down Sif's arms, Hogun glanced at her hair then looked back at Sigyn. "Lady Sigyn, perhaps you can heal her hair with magic?" he asked, still somehow stoic while a girl was spitting with rage in his arms. "I know you are skilled in such fields."

"Um…I know not how to grow her hair back without weakening her scalp," Sigyn said cautiously. "Perhaps if I had the hair that was cut, I could reattach it?"

"Then it is settled!" Fandral announced, who had not been restraining Sif, but had remained between her and Sigyn on the chance that Sif managed to escape her bonds. "The Lady Sigyn shall search for the lost hair and repair what has been damaged, and the Lady Sif will cease her attacks. What say you, Lady Sif?"

Sif tugged one last time at Hogun's and Volstagg's grip, and failing to free herself, she stopped struggling and said coldly, "Fine. But know that I lie in wait for those who break their oath, little bookworm." Hogun and Volstagg finally relinquished their grip and Sif stood tall and proud, sneering at Sigyn as she rubbed her sore wrists. "I go to the training grounds!" she proclaimed, and briskly walked off. The Warriors Three quickly ran after her, keen on preventing her from breaking anything or anyone else.

Sigyn blinked, her heart still pounding from the moment of danger. She sighed to herself, wishing she had chosen to hide herself instead. She began her search for Loki, and wondered how long it would take to locate him. He had a great number of nooks and crannies in the palace that he delighted in hiding in when his tricks were played out.

* * *

It was perhaps an hour before Sigyn knocked precisely on a seemingly innocent wall and finally spotted an unearthly green glow somewhere around the bend of the tunnel that had just opened to her. She remained still as the wall closed back up behind her and she wondered if Loki had noticed the disturbance. There were precious few opportunities for anyone to catch the younger prince unawares, and not the other way around. Hearing no shuffling from within the tunnel, Sigyn carefully tiptoed her way through the dark, reaching out to feel the walls and heading towards the source of the light.

Without warning, the light around the corner disappeared. In its place, a glowing green orb popped up a foot away from her face along with Loki, who bared his teeth and shouted "Graaaaah!" Sigyn squeaked in shock and stumbled over backwards.

Loki laughed. "Lady Sigyn, you must do better if you truly wish to ambush me!" he said, giving her a teasing smile. He held out a hand to help Sigyn back to her feet. She accepted it, her own hands quivering slightly as she still recovered from the scare.

"You know, the Lady Sif has vowed to slay me if I do not restore her hair to its former glory," Sigyn said in lieu of a greeting. She dusted off her clothes and looked back up to see Loki's eyes gleaming mischieviously. "Does she squeal like a stuck pig in her fury?" he asked excitedly.

"Just so." Sigyn cocked her head. "You know, it is the most curious thing. She is convinced that I lulled her to sleep in the gardens before she woke up to find her hair missing."

Loki's face shifted, hints of guilt and pride mixing in his expression. Sigyn continued, a smile beginning to stretch across her face. "I told her she must be mistaken, as I have spent the whole of today indoors."

"Why, my lady," Loki said, his face carefully rearranged into a wide-eyed innocence, "one of you must surely have dreamt the events of this day. Did you not perhaps nod off in your studies and visit Sif in the gardens in your sleep?"

Sigyn could not help but grin widely at Loki's antics. "Loki," she admonished, though without much sternness.

"Oh, all right," he said, rolling his eyes theatrically. He exaggerated a sigh, but excitement quickly caught up with him again. "But you must see, Sigyn! You, at least, will appreciate the artistry of it." Loki stood back and closed his eyes, and his appearance began to ripple. Sigyn stared as slowly, his features began to change before her eyes. His face became more rounded, his arms and legs more delicate, his hair lightening and growing, until Sigyn was staring at a perfect copy of herself, still posed with Loki's face of concentration.

"What!" Sigyn exclaimed, a note of jealousy creeping into her tone. "How did you manage a successful shapeshift already? I spent my day reading because I was sure I needed to read more to maintain a stable form!"

The copy brushed back her long blonde hair and gave a more dazzling smile than Sigyn was sure she had ever managed. "Not to worry; it was all your persistence in studying that helped me understand how to hold the form. It's not enough just to want to _look_ like something else, you know; you have to think as they think as well."

Sigyn did not know what to make of the charm that was radiating from the image of herself in front of her, particularly since it was evidence that Loki had managed this triumph before her. "You are more adept at sorcery than I, Loki," Sigyn said, a pout forming on her face. "I fear I shall never have such a natural talent as you."

Loki frowned, and he slowly began to shift back to his true form. "You are more patient and persistent than I, Sigyn. You understand magic more thoroughly. I always learn much when we are together."

Sigyn indulged herself and stuck out her tongue at the newly normal Loki. "Thank you for the compliments, o my prince," she said, but still couldn't help from smiling. "But back to the matter of my imminent execution at the hands of the Lady Sif."

Loki grinned and produced the long, dark locks of hair from a fold in his clothes. "I have a better idea."

"You are so full of wonderful ideas I should wonder how Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three have not yet murdered you in your sleep."

"Such little faith," he moaned, but the glint was back in his eyes in an instant. "Shall I continue?"

"I think you will despite any protest I should give."

Loki giggled and swept behind Sigyn, taking up her blonde locks in his free hand. "Why don't I put this hair on you instead? You and I would then both have dark hair, and we would match. Together, we would be the most beautiful matching couple in all the nine realms!" At this last declaration, Loki posed dramatically.

Sigyn snatched back her own hair and stepped back, but she couldn't help laughing along with the young prince. "Only if I could then survive my next encounter with Sif, once she had seen that I stole her precious hair!" She held out her hand expectantly to Loki.

Loki pouted and gave her the dark locks. "Know that I bequeath this to you only so that you may continue to learn the magical arts by my side," he said solemnly.

"I know also that the king shall scold you soundly while I return valiantly to Sif as the hero of the day," Sigyn retorted, equally as grave.

"But what shall there be to scold me for once you have heroically restored Lady Sif to her former glory?" he asked with a wink. And with that, he disappeared down the other end of the tunnel.

Sigyn sighed and shook her head, conjuring her own globe of light and returning the way she came in. Putting Sif's hair back on her head would probably be easy enough, but it was likely that once repaired, it was still going to look just a little bit odd.

* * *

She reencountered Sif still at the training grounds, where the Warriors Three looked a bit worse for wear after sparring with Sif at the height of her rage. Thor had joined them and was managing to match Sif blow for blow with the training swords. Upon seeing Sigyn return with her hair, Sif promptly smashed Thor sideways into the ground and ran to reunite with what was once thought to be parted from her forever. She apologized to Sigyn for her remarks and Sigyn told her not to worry, as Loki's skill at magic was growing at a breakneck pace and would soon fool them all if they were not careful.

"We must hope that you manage to keep our trickster prince in line then, eh?" Volstagg chuckled, and Sigyn did her best to give the beam that Loki had managed in her image earlier. "As best can anyone," she replied, and went about carefully reattaching Sif's pride and joy.

* * *

**So, I'd say these kids are ranging from about ten to twelve years old in Midgardian years during this incident. Time skips will probably be rather arbitrary in this story. Also, I wouldn't expect all updates to be quite this fast; I imagine I'd run out of steam and ideas frighteningly fast if I did. Thank you all for reading, and be sure to give me any hints for improvements!**


	3. Chapter 3

Sigyn was beginning to grow worried.

The days in which royal tutors would hold their hands through learning and controlling spells had long gone; those who wished to learn more where now to pursue the knowledge on their own. As far as Sigyn knew, she and Loki were really the only ones who wanted to learn more, so they had begun to find spellbooks for new ideas and knowledge. Oftentimes, they would end up learning magic together and teaching each other whenever the other was struggling. It was an arrangement that worked well.

Recently, though, Sigyn had found herself again and again studying alone, unable to find the younger prince. It was not a particularly unusual thing, as Loki was not quite as introverted as her and was often seen in Thor's company (though Sigyn sometimes suspected this was less Loki's choice and more Thor eager to drag his little brother with him everywhere). But as the days went on and Sigyn had no one to work with to figure out projecting multiple images of oneself at once, she grew lonely. It was an odd feeling, as she had never before had a problem with shutting herself away from the rest of the world and absorbing all that she could learn. It was not a sensation that she particularly enjoyed.

If she was going to do something about it, it would mean venturing from her usual isolationist ways of her own free will. Which was how Sigyn found herself wandering around the palace searching for Thor. Surely if Loki had not been around Sigyn recently, Thor should have, at the very least, seen him. Perhaps he could give her a hint as to where Loki could have gone.

* * *

"Lady Sigyn!" shouted a deep booming voice. Sigyn smiled. Thor's voice had gotten deeper and deeper as of late, resembling that of the All-Father's. But while Odin's voice was often strict and commanding, Thor's tone was always jovial. "Have you finally broken free of the snares of your studies?"

"They are hardly snares, my prince," she retorted. "To me, they are a siren's call, much as battle calls out to the furthest reaches of your heart."

"I fear I shall never understand the interests of you and my dear brother," Thor said with an almost comical moan. Sigyn had found him in the weapons vault, where the greatest spoils of Odin's wars were kept. The Casket of Ancient Winters and the Infinity Gauntlet were the most infamous treasures there, but Thor looked to the hammer forged by the most skilled dwarves in a dying star, Mjolnir.

"Have you seen him of late?" Sigyn asked, chuckling to herself at Thor's inability to understand her joy in knowledge. It had been a long while since she had tried to lie to Odin to prevent a betrothal to Thor, but she still did not regret it. "I have not shared Loki's company in recent days, and I begin to miss his insights and clever quips."

"Loki?" he asked, looking surprised. "Why, I have not seen him for many a day. I had thought that he would be locked away with you, spiriting the world around him." Thor winked at her. "The two of you never seem to stray far from each other."

Sigyn blinked, the smile fading from her face. Neither of them had seen Loki for the past several days? Where on Asgard could he have gone? "You have no idea where he could be?"

Thor shook his head and rubbed his chin. "I should think him to be honing his skills after his defeat in the arena against Baldr, but I have not seen him in the training grounds since."

Sigyn frowned at him. "Loki lost that match only because the All-Father forbade magic in the battle."

"Lady Sigyn, a warrior is judged by their strength, not their trickery."

"Why should that be so? Magic can be an invaluable tool when facing adversaries. It is not as if everyone casts off all of their armor and weapons before entering battle. Sorcery is just the same. In any case, wars are often won with trickery, not with sheer brute force."

"Then perhaps you should tell such a thing to my father," Thor said, now giving his own frown to Sigyn's comments. "But I am afraid I cannot aid you in your search for Loki. He has vanished from my eye too."

She sighed, internally frustrated, but bowed respectfully. "Then I apologize for troubling you, my prince." She glanced back up, making eye contact with Thor. "I should hate to disturb you from contemplating a prize that has not yet found you worthy," she said before she could stop herself.

Thor's eyes flashed, but Sigyn had already turned and dashed out to safety.

* * *

The training grounds of the palace were spacious. There were areas devoted to improving one's proficiency at as many weapons that could be conceived. Swordplay, archery, clubs and maces, long staves, bladed or no, if the Asgardian weapons master could dream it up, a place was set out for it and the weapons provided for practice. The infirmary had been conveniently placed beside it.

Sigyn was not wholly unfamiliar with the training grounds, as Sif would sometimes insist on dragging her out to spar in hand to hand combat (_"The women of Asgard must not find themselves helpless, Lady Sigyn! You shall not be so easily conquered yet!"_). However, she did not know the crevices of the place; if Loki had wanted to hide here, as was his custom, it would take her some time to find him. It was late evening when she arrived, and the few who remained training paid her little attention.

Sigyn suspected that she wouldn't necessarily find Loki here, but if she could at least find something that he had left behind, she might be able to track him from it. So she searched, gently running her fingers along the weapons that had been placed on racks and tables and checking for traces of magic left behind on any of them.

She reached the section devoted to small blades to be thrown or concealed and used at precisely the right moment in close combat. Sigyn knew this was the sort of battle mode that Loki preferred, so she walked slowly and methodically, making sure to check each dagger and throwing star for Loki.

Here, though, she found that the practice was basically useless; these weapons were used by many, and frankly, whenever she thought she might have detected a sliver of his presence, it could have easily been a mix of many other Aesir who had tried their luck in the skill. It was frustrating, but Sigyn pressed on.

When she finally reached the end of the racks, it was well and truly night, and everyone had long since vacated the grounds. And Sigyn had not found anything to aid her search.

She huffed, irritated, but neatly put the last blade back in its place. No need to vent her frustrations on inanimate objects that hadn't provided her with the information she had hoped. It wasn't as if they had owed her anything.

She stepped back out, ready to start another search in the morning. She walked through the various arenas, but when she placed a foot into the range devoted to swordplay, she suddenly felt something change. It was as if the air had begun to hum.

Sigyn stopped and stepped back. There didn't look as if there was anything unusual. The grounds were deserted. There was an empty plain where two could fight together. Beaten practice dummies stood forlornly in a corner. Training swords were leaned against a fence nearby.

Cautiously, Sigyn reached out with her hand. Again, there was a point where she could feel a change. A sort of buzzing that she could feel more than hear.

She took back her hand and frowned, puzzled. This was definitely magic, but it didn't really have a specific person's signature. Who else could it possibly be but Loki's, though? But if this was Loki's work, why in the area for swordplay? That had always been more of a specialty of Thor or Fandral. And besides, what exactly was this magic _for_, anyway?

Sigyn closed her eyes and focused. _Concentrate. See where the air is not air._ She murmured a word and very deliberately, she opened her eyes. Her focus almost broke when she saw the entire arena before her shimmering slightly. The magic was spread over a much farther range than she had thought.

Well, magic over such a large area was bound to have a hole somewhere. Carefully, Sigyn began to run her hands along where the shimmering started. She could feel the energy humming through her fingers and vibrating somewhere between her ears, and very quickly, she came across what felt a bit like a knot in the air. She motioned her fingers in a way that was reminiscent of untying, and the air fell still again.

Before her, the glamour that had previously been placed over the plain faded away. Now, blades were strewn everywhere, many of which had been stuck firmly in dummies where vitals would have been in a normal person. Broken training equipment had been thrown haphazardly around the edges of the hidden area. Oddly, dead insects of all kinds littered the ground, with some lizards also lying lifeless among them. In the middle, clutching desperately to a training sword and kneeling over a dummy that was almost torn in half, sweating and gasping for air, was Loki.

Sigyn broke into a run. "Loki!" she cried, getting to his side quickly and kneeling down next to him.

His eyes swiveled in her direction. "Must you interrupt?" he asked, more coherently than one might expect from someone panting as he was.

He was thin and haggard, with what Sigyn could only think to be bruises blossoming on his limbs, though she couldn't say for sure in the dark night. His eyes were bloodshot and ringed with exhaustion, and he was shaking very slightly. "Loki, have you _eaten_ in this past week?" she asked, staring.

Loki pulled himself up into a standing position and waved her off. "Leave me be," he rasped, still holding the training sword and swaying slowly on the spot. He made a motion towards one of the less violently treated dummies and it lurched to life, a training sword of its own stuck through its hand. It raised its sword arm and began to slowly and clumsily walk towards Loki, who had raised his own sword in turn, sweating more profusely and staring at the dummy with his teeth clenched.

Sigyn looked at the scene, aghast. After a moment, she pulled herself together and walked determinately behind Loki. She thrust a finger to the back of his neck, and feeling a source of magical energy, she twisted her hand, locking it in. Loki promptly fell to the ground and the dummy with the sword stopped moving.

Trying to push himself back up, Loki attempted to whip his head around to see Sigyn. "What have you done to me, woman?" he snarled at her.

She was unfazed. "A Reanimation spell? Are you _serious?_" she asked, her voice cold. "I'm surprised you haven't yet dropped dead from the effort it must have taken to keep them going for as long as you were hidden."

"I told you to leave me be!" he snapped back.

"How long have you been here, hiding from the rest of the world and exerting yourself to death?"

"I am your prince! Restore my magic to me immediately!"

"You are a fool if you plan to continue this."

Loki growled at her and tried desperately to push up towards her, but fell as his arms quickly gave out, leaving him prostrate on the dirt, breathing heavily.

Sigyn sat down in front of Loki's head, looking on disapprovingly. "So what exactly possessed you to disappear only to work yourself to this point?"

"And why," Loki spat between his gasps for air, "should I share my motivations with you?"

"I suppose you have no reason to," she said, showing no signs of leaving, "but if you will not talk to me, then I shall go and leave your magic locked so you might perhaps actually sleep this night here on the ground."

Loki rolled his eyes and rested his forehead on the ground, his breathing slowly evening out as he lay still.

Sigyn gave him a minute, and then asked, "How long have you been out here?"

Loki turned his head to look at her and did nothing but glare for several seconds. Finally, he muttered, "Five days."

"And did you eat or sleep at all during these five days?"

"Does it matter?"

Sigyn narrowed her eyes, giving her own cold stare back at him. "If not exhausting yourself to the brink of death is in your interests, then yes, it matters. If you have not eaten or slept these past five days, how in Odin's name were you still managing to stand?"

Loki made a vague gesture with his hand. "They amount to replenishing energy. I used alternative methods." Sigyn raised her eyebrows and Loki sighed. "The animals, Sigyn."

She looked out and for the first time, took close notice of the dead insects and reptiles around them. Her eyes slowly widened. "You used up…their life's energy?"

"It turns out the more complex the animal, the harder it is to tap in," he said, looking closely at her expression. "Animals cling quite stubbornly to being alive, it would seem."

Sigyn found herself speechless. She knew what she should be doing. She should be berating Loki for treating these animals' lives as tools, insects though they may be. But the only coherent thought that her mind was providing her with was how neat and elegant, even if cruel, a solution it was.

Loki snickered weakly. "I thought you might appreciate it."

Her eyes snapped back to him and examined his body as well as she could in the dark. "But it wasn't enough, was it?"

"It was enough to keep me standing and fighting. That's all I needed."

Sigyn pursed her lips and leaned back, tilting her head to the side. "So tell me, what inspired this sudden training frenzy?"

Loki clenched his teeth for a moment. "My physical prowess is currently insufficient," he said dully.

"Is this because of your match?"

"I lost to Baldr, Sigyn!" he exploded. "_Baldr!_ He's still barely a child and he could outfight me! I refuse to be made to look like such a fool again!"

"That's why you put up that glamour? To prevent you from having to face others after your match while you improve?"

Loki did not answer her immediately. "It lasted for five days. Not even the fools who would train here during the day could step inside to see me," he said eventually, a note of pride in his voice.

"It was degrading," Sigyn informed him. "I could detect it and undo it almost immediately."

He smirked back up at her. "You are more skilled than most, Sigyn. I would not have been surprised if you could have done the same when I first set it up."

"I doubt it. Illusion magics have always been your specialty," she replied, then sighed. "Your magical prowess is unparalleled. It lasted you out here undiscovered for five days without sustenance. Is that not enough for you?"

"It doesn't seem to be enough for Father," Loki said coldly, and refused to meet her eyes.

They stayed like that for a little while, Sigyn looking down at Loki, who was still lying on his stomach on the ground, not looking at her. "I should take you to the infirmary," she finally said.

"I don't need the infirmary," Loki promptly responded. "I am barely injured; I simply need to restore my energy. Bruises are child's play to heal."

Sigyn raised her eyebrows. "Well then, I think you have had enough out here. I can heal your bruises for you and prevent you from wasting any more energy, and you will replenish your energy as all others do: with rest."

Loki glared up at her, not looking particularly pleased with this suggestion.

"Or I could leave you out here with your magic locked and force you to sleep where you lie now," she said exasperatedly.

They stared at each other stubbornly, neither looking to back down at first. Finally, Loki sighed and said, "Fine. Release me."

Sigyn touched the back of his neck again. Locating the little ball of energy she had locked up, she twisted her hand in the opposite directions, letting the energy flow back through his body.

Loki slowly stood up and Sigyn could practically hear his body creaking. Before he had a chance to pull anything, she grabbed his forearm and proceeded to march him back to the palace.

"Must you handle me in such a way?" he grumbled. "And where are we going?"

Sigyn looked back at him and smiled. "Why, the library, of course. Where else do I go?"

* * *

They arrived at one of the library alcoves they often stayed in and Sigyn made Loki strip and lie down on a couch as she conjured up light and looked him over. He had been right; he really was barely injured. There were a fairly small number of bruises decorating his body, and there were almost no cuts, not even superficial. She placed a finger on the largest one, which was on the left side of his abdomen. "Where did these even come from?"

"From the practice dummies, of course," Loki said, a bit condescendingly. "You didn't think I was going to be flailing a sword around in the air by myself? That was what the Reanimation was for."

"The one I saw didn't seem to be moving very fast. They really managed to injure you?"

"They were much faster when I first began," he replied, sounding defensive.

Sigyn smiled, and her hand grew hot as she placed them on his injuries and repaired the blood vessels under his skin. It was a surprisingly fast process, and she had returned his skin to a practically unblemished state within about six minutes or so.

Loki made to get up again and Sigyn pushed him back down. He looked at her and opened his mouth to protest and she placed her hand over it. "Rest," she reminded him.

He sighed and lied back down again. "I don't yet feel like sleeping," he informed her.

"How could you not _possibly – _"

"It is a side effect of the magic. Life energy makes one quite alert."

Sigyn frowned. "You need to sleep. Shall I enchant you?"

"No need to go that far, I think," Loki said, his eyes now roaming the room. He thought for a moment. Without looking at her, he commanded, "Read me a story."

There was a pause.

"I apologize; I hadn't realized you were still a toddler."

"Hush." Loki still wouldn't meet her eye, but didn't look the slightest bit embarrassed at his suggestion. "It will take my mind off things, and I imagine you could tell a tale well. We _are_ in a library."

Sigyn had to keep herself from snorting at the absurdity of the situation. "Have you a story you prefer, then? How whimsical shall this tale be?" Despite herself, she ventured into some neighboring shelves to look for storybooks.

"Anything you like," Loki called out to her. "Something you are familiar with."

A familiar spine caught Sigyn's eye, and she took it from its place on the shelf. It was a book she knew that she had at her own home, filled with fanstastical stories of wonder and the like. She had adored it as a child.

She grumbled under her breath at this. She wasn't a nursemaid; she had only wanted her magic partner back. Somehow, though, she still found herself bringing the book back to the alcove where Loki was waiting.

"Well, go on," he said, smirking at her. "Impress me."

Sigyn's eyebrow twitched, but she set her mouth and opened the book. "_There was once a kingdom that rested atop the clouds. It was said that a goddess had placed the land there to protect her people from the evils on the surface, but none in living memory knew for certain what lay below them…_"

To her great surprise, Loki did not interrupt her once as she read. There were no comments or jibes at how she read or at the characters in the story. She was impressed; had the story been read to her, she might have commented about the ridiculous, dramatic magician who starred as the main antagonist of the narrative.

Sigyn was not much for theatrics, but she did her best to bring life to the story, which managed to be an adventure and a romance for the two heroes. It was quite a lengthy tale, and when she finished, she looked up to see that Loki had closed his eyes. "Well done," he murmured at her, dispelling her hopes that she had finally managed to put him to sleep.

"Will you rest now? Or shall I bring you a glass of warm milk?"

Eyes still closed, Loki grinned. "Not necessary, but appreciated."

Sigyn stared at him for a moment, then rolled her eyes and flipped pages until reaching a new story.

This time, both of them fell asleep before reaching the end.

* * *

**So this turned out to be rather long…but I still kind of like how it turned out. I originally meant to focus on Sigyn's storytelling more than finding Loki, but things don't always turn out as you expect, I suppose. Also, is it just me, or is there a lot of frowning in this chapter?**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter, and thank you for all of you have reviewed, put this on your story alerts, or your favorite stories! I'm so flattered! And remember, all feedback, critical or otherwise, is greatly appreciated! I suspect the next chapter will be up fairly soon!**


	4. Chapter 4

The wall had been the talk of the palace gossip lately. It was large, sturdy, and grand, but the main point of conversation that was usually raised was how mind-bogglingly fast it was being built.

The builder of the wall had requested anonymity as part of his price, the least of his demands. The request he had made that incited the most passionate reactions of the royal court was the hand of Freyja.

Freyja was widely regarded to be one of the most beautiful women to ever grace the halls of the Asgardian palace, despite being one of the Vanir. She was not exactly the most demure of ladies, though; while she regularly took lovers that struck her fancy, she widely objected to her hand being auctioned off to anyone as payment. And her anger was often something to behold.

Freyja was older than Sigyn or Sif by several years, and so neither of them had ever taken the opportunity to try and speak with her. To them, Freyja was someone to be talked about, not talked to, in the kind of awed whispers reserved for speaking of legends. It wasn't just anyone who could flat out refuse the All-Father's request.

However, Odin wasn't about to turn down the builder just because Freyja wouldn't comply. The wall was sorely needed after the previous fortifications for Asgard had been heavily damaged by the wars of the Nine Realms. He had decided to agree to the terms, but give the man only six months to build it before he got to collect, as well as the condition that no man may help him in the construction. Sigyn remembered the next exchange quite clearly; almost the whole court had been present to hear of the fate of the wall and Freyja's hand.

"_I agree to your terms,_" the builder had said, "_on the condition that I may have at least the assistance of my trusted steed, Svadilfari._"

Loki had laughed. "_What, the assistance of a horse? Rather than one man working to build the wall, we shall have two beasts build it instead!_"

The court had laughed along with him at the time, but they ended up eating their words when Svadilfari turned out to be very capable indeed. A great white stallion, he could find and drag the bricks wherever the builder needed them, and some Asgardians even swore they had spotted the horse nudging the bricks into place while the builder simply caulked everything together. The deadline had grown near, and the wall was dangerously close to being completed right on time.

Freyja was irate upon hearing the news. The court, in looking for someone to blame for the situation, turned on Loki for the comment that convinced them the king to agree to the builder's terms. Thor had roared at them all to keep silent, but Odin, swayed by the voices of the court and Freyja's rage, eventually tasked Loki with the job of preventing the wall from being finished by the deadline. Besides, who better to figure a way to stop construction than the clever trickster prince?

* * *

Sigyn was wandering around the outskirts of Asgard, examining the newly completed wall. Odin's deadline had passed a week ago, and the builder had only just failed to complete construction after Svadilfari had mysteriously gone missing for the last three days up to the deadline. It seemed Loki had managed his task, though no one had seen him in the last few days either.

The wall really was quite impressive: built solidly, but somehow still not an eyesore. Sigyn didn't find much occasion to call large barriers elegant, but this wall managed it.

A noise on her periphery startled her. Sigyn promptly straightened up and spun around, alert. There wasn't much she could do to take down an attacker, but she could certainly think of various ways to distract one and escape. To her surprise, though, a horse emerged from the underbrush around her.

It wasn't Svadilfari; this horse was black, smaller, more slender. It was snorting and stamping anxiously and didn't seem to know where to go. Upon making eye contact with Sigyn, it immediately trotted over to her and stared her intently in the eye.

Sigyn was not particularly well versed in how to treat animals. She could transform into them, sure, but that was purely a matter of appearance. She was at least sure than she probably shouldn't be needlessly abusive to this horse, but she didn't know what to do beyond that. Did it want her to feed it? Groom it? Should she be trying to find its master?

She decided that the best course of action would be to treat it like a person. As closely as possible, anyway. "Hello," Sigyn said politely, standing up straight. "May I help you?"

The horse began to butt at her shoulder. "Um." She turned towards it and put up her hands to catch its head. "Would you like me to take you somewhere?"

It stopped trying to nudge her and began to shake its head, snorting more violently now. "Ah…" Sigyn kept her hands held up, backing up slowly. "Please keep calm; I'm sure this is something that we can solve."

To her great surprise, the snorts and whines of the horse began to turn into speech. "…curse this beast's _throat_, it's nearly impossible to speak, honestly…"

Sigyn froze and stared, sure she had just misheard. But no, that voice, it was always and instantly recognizable. "…Loki?"

The horse stopped and looked back at her. "_Finally_," it muttered. "Sigyn, always a pleasure to see you."

She looked back at him, her head tilted and a half smile forming on her face. "A horse?" she asked.

"Well, of course." Loki responded, stomping his hind leg and twitching his tail. "What better way to distract another horse?"

"Well, the deadline has passed and the All-Father is pleased. It turns out that the builder was actually of Niflheim, so Thor lost his temper and smashed his skull open, as he does." Sigyn stepped back and smiled expectantly. "So, no need to keep the form any longer. Feel free to release your transformation any time."

"Ah…yes. About that," Loki said, a hint of nervousness in his voice. "There has arisen…a complication."

Her smile dropped. "Has something happened? Has Svadilfari done something to you? He was certainly a capable horse, but I had not thought he could disrupt magic."

For the first time in Sigyn's conceivable memory, Loki was at a loss for words. Instead of his usual, carefully crafted speech, he had basically been reduced to babbling. "No, it was no such thing, though it was indeed the fault of that horse, which is not to say that it was magical, because it wasn't, and actually, given the abilities of him, I wouldn't be too terribly surprised if Svadilfari _did_ know magic, but –"

Sigyn raised a hand to stop him. "So, not something magical." Her eyebrows snapped together as another possibility struck her. "Did he injure you? Do you need me to heal you at all?" She called some magic to her hands and began to run them over Loki's horse form, searching for anything that was damaged.

He almost jumped away from the touch and looked almost like he was about to run away, he was twitching so much. "Ah, well, technically yes, but injury is not really the main issue –"

"Loki, stop _fidgeting_ so, there looks like there's some bruising around your abdomen," she started to tell him, then stopped. At her sudden pause, the horse under her also went still, though anxiety still hung quite palpably around them.

"…Loki?"

"…Yes, Sigyn?"

"You are a female horse."

"Correct."

"I suspect you already know what I feel compelled to mention next."

Loki started stamping again, his voice gaining a defensive bite. "Well, what else should I have done? Could _you_ think of a more foolproof way to distract a stallion? I thought I might be able to outrun him and lead him away, but that blasted thing isn't just strong, it's cursed fast as well. It's not as if I had planned for this to happen, Sigyn, must you _laugh_ at me?" he finished desperately, as Sigyn doubled over in full, deep-bellied laughter at the sheer improbability of the situation.

She could hardly even recall an occasion where she had laughed as hard as this; tears were beginning to stream down her face and she was having a somewhat difficult time catching her breath and trying to speak again to apologize to Loki. "The bruising?" she eventually managed to gasp out.

"He kicked me," Loki grumbled, sending her into a new fit of giggles. "Sigyn, can you please _attempt_ to control yourself?" he said, his tone veering quite fast into what could only be classified as deeply personally offended.

She flapped a hand at him as she tried valiantly to collect herself. "I…apologize," she said, doing her best to gulp down the rest of the laughter that was threatening to bubble back up again. She took a few deep breaths and wiped the last of the tears from her face. "Ehehe…so, what now? You are unable to transform back with this new complication?"

"Naturally," he said, the snap still in his voice. "I do not know what returning to an Aesir male form will do to the…child." The word sounded distasteful in his mouth.

Sigyn pressed a hand over her mouth, still smiling, as she mentally filed through information she knew about horses. "If I recall correctly, the typical incubation period for horses is approximately eleven months."

"_Eleven–_" Loki hissed, snorting angrily. "Am I to be confined to this form with a child growing inside me for nearly a _year_?"

"If you intend to keep it, I suppose," she responded absentmindedly, "though it might be different here, given the…unusual circumstances." She glanced back at Loki, and it occurred to her that even given her limited experience, getting to see a horse so visibly sulking was probably a rare event. "Should we ask Frigga? She can See some things, as I understand it."

Loki didn't seem particularly eager to reveal all that had happened to his mother, but eventually had to concede that Sigyn had a point when she said that he couldn't just stand at the outskirts of Asgard for the entire eleven months hiding from everyone, and that anyway, Heimdall had probably already seen what happened (earning a traumatized shudder from the younger prince). They agreed to ask Frigga if she could See how long until the foal was born and its possible future, and so set back off to the palace.

* * *

Loki thanked all of the powers that might exist for his knowledge of secret passages in and out of the palace, meaning that Sigyn could lead him to his mother and father without needing to meet anyone who might start gossiping about it. He suspected that word would get out about it eventually, but he'd rather it be later than sooner.

They reached the throne room without incident, but when they got there, there were more than Odin and Frigga to contend with. Thor was currently being lectured.

"…was impulsive and reckless, you are lucky that hrimthurs had been cut off from Niflheim previously or you would have risked the offense of all the giants from the realm!" Odin boomed sternly. Thor's head was bowed down in what it seemed he had hoped looked like remorse, but was more like resentment for being reprimanded over actions that had been fully deserved.

Frigga raised her head at Sigyn and Loki's entrance. "Why, Lady Sigyn, what a lovely horse," she said, a gentle smile on her face. "Wherever did it come from?"

Sigyn might not have been quite as skilled at lying as Loki Silvertongue, but she certainly hadn't spent several years in his company without picking up a few things. She found that she preferred weaving truths for her deceptions, though. "I was hoping you might be able to tell me, my queen," she replied, lightly placing a hand on Loki's head. "She came to me of her own accord, and is somewhat injured. When I looked her over, she was with child." She ducked her head down and looked demure. "I fear I ask too much, but I wonder if you may be able to divine where she comes from? And perhaps the future welfare of her and her child?"

"Of course." Frigga rose to her feet and motioned towards an exit to the side. "Shall we work elsewhere and leave these men to their business?"

"Hold, mother," Thor said suddenly, rising. "Sigyn, know you where Loki has gone? We must thank him for successfully delaying the building of the wall." He grinned and added, "I wish to hear tale of the tricks he used in his endeavors."

Sigyn smiled. "I fear I have only seen this mare today," she answered, following Frigga out of the room. "But I am sure wherever Loki may be, he has an account worth telling." Beside her, Loki stamped and let out a protesting whinny as he was lead away.

Once safely in Frigga's chambers, Loki turned back to Sigyn. "An account worth telling," he said reproachfully, "I'd rather this exploit not be the one I am remembered for."

"Oh, I'm sure you could weave it in such a way to make yourself seem heroic and honorable," she responded, sounding unconcerned.

Frigga's eyes twinkled as she looked back at them. "Oh, my son," she said, "somehow, I wondered if it might be you."

"And so we solve the mystery of where the mare comes from." Sigyn reminded herself not to start laughing again, if only for Loki's pride. "But I still wish to hear the answer to my second request."

"Oh? So Loki is truly with child, then?"

"Unmistakably so."

"Must you say it in such a manner?" Loki grumbled.

Frigga laughed, a sweet, tinkling sound. "Well, I should hardly abandon my grandchild," she said and placed a hand to Loki's forehead, closing her eyes.

There was a short silence, and Frigga opened her eyes once more, now looking awed. "Why, this horse shall be one of legend. The All-Father will ride him valiantly into battle, and all shall know of his speed and beauty."

Sigyn looked suitably impressed by this pronouncement, but Loki cut in. "That is all well and good, but how long will it take before it – he," he corrected himself, "can be brought into the world and out of me?"

"Loki," Frigga admonished, her delicate eyebrows meeting in disapproval.

"What would you have me do, mother?" he snapped back. "I don't wish to retain this form any longer than I must; I entered it only at the All-Father's request, and now this! Have I not been humiliated enough?"

The queen sighed. "A year, I should think. Perhaps it can be sped along with magic, but I do not recommend it. We tread in unexplored waters now, and I know not what will affect the child."

"The full year. Lovely," Loki snorted to himself.

Sigyn hummed to herself, and said, "Well, I don't suppose a prince of Asgard can simply go missing for a year. How shall we be telling the king and Prince Thor of this?"

Loki turned to face her and gave Sigyn what could only be seen as a cold glare. She wondered if normal horses could make all of the expressions Loki managed. "I would prefer this stay as quiet as possible," he said frostily.

"They must be told eventually, Loki," Frigga informed him sternly. "You cannot hide away from your family in shame."

"The court as well, then? How long can this be hidden? I owed them nothing, and they will no doubt mock me as soon as word reaches them of this."

"Then we will simply tell them that they should be grateful for such a brave and clever prince, who would stay a horse for a year for their safety and for Freyja's freedom," Frigga said firmly, gently stroking Loki's neck. He looked down at this, then gently nuzzled Frigga in response, who gave a soft chuckle and placed her free hand on his muzzle.

* * *

Thor laughed much harder and for much longer than Sigyn when he finally heard Loki's fate. Sigyn had thought that Loki had eventually looked ready to rear up and kick him in the face before Thor finally calmed down enough to congratulate his brother for such a successful, if not rather unorthodox, method of outsmarting the builder. Odin too congratulated Loki, telling him that he looked forward to meeting his new grandson soon.

"Are you not glad to have earned your father's approval?" Sigyn had asked Loki after Odin had left.

"I am grateful," Loki had responded cheekily, "but I had rather it not have been at the expense of my equine maidenhood."

Once Thor knew, it was only a matter of time before Sif and the Warriors Three heard, who enjoyed the story almost as much as Thor did. Volstagg had playfully called the younger prince "Loki Horsemother", who responded by snapping his teeth at Volstagg's fingers. Loki was putting up with most of the comments about his predicament rather well, though, which may have been from Frigga making good on her promise and reminding the court of the consequences of angering the queen, should they insist on mocking her son.

Sigyn read that it was healthy for a pregnant mare to get a moderate amount of exercise, so Loki decided to take the opportunity to teach her how to ride. He wasn't fond of being in full tack, so Sigyn learned how to ride bareback, and they would often take laps following the new wall surrounding Asgard. Even as a horse, Loki proved to be good company. She also enjoyed the opportunity to get ahead of Loki in her magic studies, given that he had taken Frigga's advice not to perform magic while carrying a child. Sigyn would sometimes remind him of this, and he would headbutt her in response.

The year eventually came to an end, and Loki, heavy with foal, finally went into labor. It was remarkably quick, and Sigyn was surprised to see the foal that came out had eight legs.

"I thought the child kicked me quite a lot in the last few months," Loki grumbled. He still licked the little foal clean, who looked like it was stumbling over all of its legs in an effort to stand.

"A healthy young lad!" Thor laughed happily, looking like he barely registered or cared about the absurdity of being a new uncle. "He shall bring great glory to your name, brother!"

"Have you yet decided upon a name, my son?" Odin asked, standing and watching the scene.

Loki looked up at Odin, then back down at the little horse, who had managed to push himself up and successfully stand for a couple of seconds before his legs wobbled and he stumbled again. "Sleipnir," Loki said eventually. "When he grows to adulthood, he shall be yours, father." Odin nodded in approval.

"Will you be transforming back to your true form soon, then?" Sigyn asked, smiling at Sleipnir when he finally managed to stand and stay standing. He cautiously and timidly walked over to Loki and looked up expectantly.

Loki nuzzled his son gently, then said, "Perhaps I shall stay in this form for just a short while longer. The little one still needs to nurse, after all." Sleipnir whinnied happily in response.

* * *

**I would first like to thank Haleigh Duncan for her absolutely wonderful review of this story. You have no idea how incredibly flattered I was reading it. Thank you so much for all of the praise, and I hope my writing and my Sigyn continue to live up to your expectations!**

**So, um…yeah. Up to this point, I've never actually seen a fic that really dealt with Sleipnir's birth, only ever mentioning it in passing or for a laugh, so I thought I'd try my hand in diving straight in and telling the story. I know you all knew the punchline as soon as anybody mentioned a horse at the beginning of the chapter, maybe even before that. Hopefully, you all enjoyed reading it and got a laugh out of at least some part of the story.**

**So, I did a couple of very small edits to previous chapters and updated the author's note at the beginning of the fic, for anyone new reading this now that I've moved to the Thor category. And by the way, if anyone has any sort of request for any kind of scene they would like to see between Loki and Sigyn (or any other characters, really), I'll be happy to hear them and consider writing in. As before, a lot of the future plot is still vague in my head, and I have a couple of things I know for sure I want to include, but anything else goes in between. So long as I feel like it's consistent for the characters, I'd be happy to write it in.**

**Also, my initial uploading of this made the story a bit wonky, so I did a lot of removing and reuploading of the chapter, so major apologies to anyone whose notifications went crazy.**

**Thank you all for reading, and as always, if you have any hints, tips, or criticisms, please let me know!**


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a great many years since Odin All-Father had told Sigyn that she would grow to be a beautiful woman. It had proved to be true; with her fair skin, long white-blonde hair, delicate face, and graceful limbs, she was the picture of what some Midgardian legends would refer to as an angel.

It had been many years more since her father had first reprimanded her for her tendency to hole up in her room and read instead of socialize with other children. It was a habit that she could not continue, Lord Haenir had said, or she would never fully integrate into the high circles of Asgardian society and find a man who would want her as a wife. Despite now being a regular member of Asgard's royal court and betrothed to the second-born prince, Sigyn found that this too had proved to be true.

She sometimes had to wonder if people actually thought her deaf to whisper the things they did within earshot of her. Joyless and frigid were usually the nicest of it; she had once heard a particularly rude courtier compare her to the jötunn queen Fárbauti. Really, Sigyn wondered how these individuals would fare if they had her parents to raise them; she had tact and courtesy drilled into her as long as she could remember. If she could not delight the people she had to associate with, they could at least not fault her for impeccable manners.

It wasn't as if she tried to come off as cold. Sigyn just preferred not to waste words. And if the women insisted on gossiping and the men insisted on recounting their own adventures and exploits and Sigyn found their topics of conversation to be _dreadfully_ boring, it wasn't her fault that they took offense when she expressed her disinterest in the politest way possible. So it hadn't exactly come as a surprise when a walk through the palace brought a set of whispers from a gaggle of young men to her ears.

"Ah, gentlemen, it's our resident ice queen out and about…"

"…wonder when she left her little palace of books behind, they'll get lonely…"

"Her and Silvertongue can have each other, the way they creep about the palace…"

"…lucky for her the All-Father arranged that one for her, what man would want someone as glacial as she…"

Sigyn pondered turning their underclothes into snakes, but came to the conclusion that it was more effort than they were worth, not to mention that the spell might not even really succeed at her current level of proficiency. Animating multiple objects into the complexity of small reptiles was a bit more challenging and energy-consuming than she would have liked. Instead, she changed her course to leave the palace and go around the grounds instead. Outside, at least, echoes of such comments wouldn't bounce around empty walls and reach her. Probably.

Leaving the building, Sigyn was about to turn to walk into the gardens when a woman shouting ahead of her. It was the rhythmic sound of battle cries. On a whim, she decided to change her course and investigate it.

In the clearing before her, Sigyn found the Lady Sif practicing fighting forms with her double-bladed longstaff, which was starting to look to become her weapon of choice. The staff danced and spun in Sif's expert hands, striking at imaginary foes that surrounded her, and she let out a yell for every sharp strike to the air. Her last blow left the weapon pointed Sigyn, who was still standing a ways away and put her hands together in light applause.

"Lady Sigyn!" Sif called out, a smile spreading on her face. "What brings you out this day?"

"The atmosphere inside disagreed with me," Sigyn said dismissively, smoothing out her skirts and sitting on a nearby ledge.

"Oh?" Sif brought the longstaff to her side and sat down by Sigyn's side. "In what way?"

"It is nothing of any importance," Sigyn shrugged. It was true; what did she care for the whispers of people as thoughtless as them? "I have simply been the subject of some unflattering comments."

Sif snorted. "Let me venture a guess: the men call you cold and heartless for the grievous misdeed of showing disinterest in their advances."

"Oh, nothing so predictable," Sigyn assured. "But my natural chill is certainly spoken of widely."

"They are all indecisive fools," Sif declared. "They speak of my spirit as too fiery and your rationality as too cold. I should think they deserve women that are lukewarm on their arms and in their bedchambers."

"Your vulgarity is duly noted." But even as she said it, Sigyn couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. She and Sif made an interesting pair as they sat beside each other. Sif had begun to drop into the habit of warriors to wear light armor wherever she went in the event of some spontaneous combat. Her limbs were wiry and muscled, and she didn't so much sit as lay herself over the ledge, stretching out like a cat. Sigyn, on the other hand, was wearing a white dress that completely exposed her arms and bunched up around her legs. Her skin was fair and smooth, and sat perfectly straight with her thin, delicate legs tucked neatly to her side. She suspected that other members of the royal court would consider them perfect opposites, but ended up treating them in much the same way. _Predictable_.

"Your suitors are few and far between, then?" Even as she said it, Sigyn thought it a surprise. Sif was considered by many to be a beauty, even if she could lay out the majority of them flat on their backs without sparing a second glance.

But Sif only scoffed in response. "They once weren't; many thought they could lay a claim on me and 'discourage this unladylike behavior'," she spat, saying the last phrase mockingly. She had idly begun to twirl the staff, deftly keeping it from striking herself or Sigyn beside her. "But I suspect I have persuaded the majority of them to think twice about whether they can tame one such as I to sit obediently by their sides."

"By which you mean you beat them thoroughly and embarrassingly," Sigyn deadpanned.

Sif chuckled. "You know my methods well, it seems." She glanced at Sigyn and said, "I should wonder how you would deal with unwanted suitors, but your betrothal to our trickster prevents any man who would be willing to try."

"My father had always been under the impression that my demeanor would put off any men. He preferred the insurance," Sigyn said offhandedly, now absently following the motions of the staff with her eyes. "Perhaps if you were his daughter, he would have seen your habits and had the All-Father betroth you just as quickly to Thor."

"Ha!" Sif snapped her staff back to her side and sat up, stretching. "Perhaps I'll consider it now if he could actually win in one of our sparring matches. The fool thinks brute strength is all he needs, but he doesn't have the speed to lay a single strike on me."

And suddenly Sigyn had an inkling of where this conversation was about to lead. "No, no, wait–"

"Which is _why_–"

"Sif, we've discussed this–"

"– you should come and train with me today to hone your skills!"

"Sif, I'm not a warrior!"

"That is irrelevant." Sif was now standing, and she pointed the end of the staff blade at Sigyn, inches from her face. Sigyn flinched back instinctively and almost fell backwards. "You don't have to be a warrior to defend yourself. So long as you are swift enough, you need never lay a blow on an enemy to escape."

"I already have methods of escape as a sorcerer," Sigyn protested, and gave a small yelp when Sif took hold of her arm and forced her to her feet.

"Then prove them to me on the training grounds!" Sif proclaimed and started to pull Sigyn away, who was fruitlessly trying to wriggle out of the iron grasp. "Besides, magic takes energy, does it not? It is always an asset to be able to rely on physical prowess."

"Must you pull me? I can walk under my own power!"

"I can't have you fleeing my grasp, can I?" But Sif stopped walking, though she kept her hand clasped over Sigyn's forearm. She sighed and said, "Please, Sigyn? I yearn for some sensible company. I would rather not have to train with these raging dullards every day."

"Surely Hogun would be a better match than I?" Sigyn asked, pouting somewhat. "He could actually fight back."

Sif pursed her lips, looking away. "He has been called to Svartálfaheim to aid the efforts to quash the dwarves in unrest," she said. She looked to be trying to hide it, but Sigyn could hear the envy in her tone.

There was a moment of silence, and Sigyn finally sighed. "If I agree, will you release my arm?"

"Will you truly not dash away if I let you go?" Sif asked, a smile now tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Sigyn couldn't help but give a small smirk back. She remembered her old attempts to escape Sif's training regime. "I swear it to be true, Lady Sif."

Sif let go and beckoned. "Then come along, my lady," she said, turning around and heading to the training grounds.

"My, how unexpected," a smooth voice rang out behind them.

Sif and Sigyn turned to see Loki sauntering up to them, his hands clasped behind his back. Behind him, Sleipnir walked along, sticking close to the prince, but looking around at everything interestedly. He was a lively and curious colt now and had a habit of finding and following Loki around whenever he could. Loki had initially tried to discourage this, particularly in the palace where things were delicate and people were watching. But Sleipnir proved to be persistent, once standing for hours in front of the library when both Loki and the royal librarians refused point blank for a horse to be let near what would be highly edible books and scrolls. Eventually, he conceded to allow Sleipnir more time in his company, but spent a lot more time outside now. When Loki was otherwise unavailable, Sigyn would sometimes come out and play with Sleipnir. She was no Loki, but he liked her well enough.

Upon spotting the ladies, the gray eight-legged horse trotted over to them. He poked his nose towards Sif and enthusiastically sniffed at the back of her neck.

"Stop that, Sleipnir. It's impolite," Loki said sternly. The horse stopped and gave him an affronted look. "And don't make such a face at me; it's unseemly."

Sif patted the horse's neck and smirked. "You make quite the overbearing mother, my prince."

A muscle twitched in Loki's neck, but he simply smiled back at Sif and said, "The All-Father's grandson must comport himself accordingly, wouldn't you say? In any case, I am surprised to see you dragging off the lady Sigyn for your training yet again. I would have thought she'd have convinced you otherwise by now."

"She has been so gracious as to agree to accompany me," Sif replied loftily and gave Sigyn a significant look.

Sigyn suppressed a giggle and nodded to Loki. "I have not been gang-pressed into physical activity, if that is what worries you. I thought perhaps it would make a nice change from the palace."

"Oh?" Loki asked, raising a single thin eyebrow. "Away from the shallow comments of the thoughtless members of the All-Father's court, do you mean?"

He had hit his target exceptionally close to the mark, but Sigyn wasn't particularly surprised by this. After all, he got a similar treatment from them. She smiled humorlessly. "Precisely."

"Well, I've witnessed the lady Sif literally beat several men with foolish ambition back with sticks," he said, a shadow of a smile playing at his lips. "What methods do you use to discourage unwanted attention, hm?"

"It's not so difficult," Sigyn responded, rolling her eyes. "I've found profound disinterest to come naturally and be quite the deterrent. It leads more often to using more discretion with their opinions rather than actual cessation of speech, but insults whispered behind hands are of no import to me."

A mirthless chuckle made its way out of Loki's throat. "I suppose a betrothal to an ill-favored prince does not provide for much dissuasion against offending drivel."

"I should regard their behavior in precisely the same way, betrothal or otherwise," Sigyn said dispassionately. "If they are so concerned with so insignificant a matter as marriages that have not even occurred yet, then all the more reason for me to consider their opinion worthless."

There was a pause. Sigyn looked up. Loki was staring at her intently with an odd expression on his face. She fidgeted slightly as the silence stretched on, and started to say, "Is something–"

Without warning, Loki closed the distance between them, smoothly slipped his hand over her cheek, pulled her face towards his, and brought his lips down to hers.

Sigyn's mind went silent for a split second, and then suddenly exploded with overlapping thoughts.

Her eyes had closed automatically, why had they done that, it wasn't like she had thought he had been about to hurt her, and his lips were smooth and wet, she hadn't ever given thought that lips would be wet _Of course they'd be wet, a mouth produces saliva, dry lips would be chapped_ but it wasn't wet in an unpleasant way, just wet in a natural way, also in the past when she imagined herself kissing _not often_ she always pictured kissing the lower lip, but that was what Loki was doing, so she was kissing an upper lip and she could feel his lips below her mouth, what an peculiar sensation, and wasn't it curious how well their mouths seemed to fit, did all mouths fit so well together, how _odd–_

They broke apart. The train of thought sputtered to a halt and Sigyn blinked, unsure of what to do next. A snide voice in the back of her head whispered that she should probably not be frozen in total silence after being kissed for the first time.

She opened her mouth and attempted to recollect her thoughts. "…Interesting," she finally managed.

Loki was smirking and raised an eyebrow at the comment. "Only interesting?"

"It was _very_ interesting," Sigyn replied reflexively, a touch of defensiveness in her voice. She stopped herself and mentally gave a sharp note to stop acting like a fool. "I certainly did not find it unpleasant," she said, placing a composed look back on her face.

His smirk didn't falter for a second. "I see," he said lightly. "Well then, perhaps I should cease distracting you with not unpleasant activities and leave you and the lady Sif to your training." His hand left her face and he turned, continuing his walk around the grounds.

There was a long moment where nothing else moved. Sigyn glanced over to Sif. She and Sleipnir were standing side by side, a look of wide-eyed amusement on both their faces.

Sigyn's cheeks colored slightly. "It's impolite to stare," she snapped petulantly.

Sleipnir nickered in what Sigyn swore was some kind of horse laughter and cantered off to catch up with Loki. Sif followed him with her gaze, then turned back to Sigyn. "So–"

"Later," Sigyn interrupted, not sure she wanted to process what just happened with Sif beside her providing her own commentary about the affair. "I believe we were about to spar ourselves into exhaustion?"

"Perhaps _you_ were," Sif said with a smirk, and thankfully didn't press the issue. "If I cannot have you catching projectiles before sundown, I shall rank the day as a failure." With that, she strode purposefully away.

Sigyn winced in anticipation, but dutifully followed.

* * *

**I wrote this chapter a bit differently than the rest in that I didn't really know what was going to happen in it when I started writing it, other than I knew I wanted Loki to surprise-kiss Sigyn at the end. As a result, I feel like this chapter definitely had less of a cohesive plot than the others, and I'm not completely satisfied with it, but I suspect this is as good as I can get it in a reasonable timeframe without me throwing my laptop out a window in frustration. But I hope you all like it, and if you don't, please go ahead and tell me so in a review!**

**I'd like to accredit Sleipnir's appearances to the anon who wanted more scenes with him; I had been planning on just forgetting about him after that chapter wrapped up, but I kind of like him showing up. He's cute, don't you think? I don't know when I'll have him grow up and be Odin's steed full time, but apparently, it won't be immediately. To the rest of that review, though, I'd like to go ahead and say right now that I don't picture Loki and Sigyn being a lovey-dovey kind of couple at all. They're both somewhat of an enigma in their own right, and their relationship is going to reflect that, or at least it should if I'm writing it properly. It's still a romance, though, don't you worry. Just not a particularly conventional one.**

**To the reviewer Leah Tatyana Nicole, who wanted scenes of Loki getting jealous about men going after Sigyn, don't you worry: that will be dealt with accordingly in upcoming chapters.**

**So, hope you all liked this chapter at least a little bit, or at least the kiss scene just a tad. Remember, I'm open to hearing requests from reviewers about what they want in future chapters, and make sure to leave any feedback or criticisms for me!**


	6. Chapter 6

_Well_, Sigyn thought to herself, bringing a warm hand to a thin slash above her elbow, _that was unpleasant._

Nursing injuries wasn't a particularly common event for Sigyn. When the majority of one's time was spent reading, the worst injuries one usually sustained were nasty paper cuts, and the effects of regular sorcery usually manifested as exhaustion rather than physical wounds.

However, Sif had made it clear that she was not in the business in coddling anyone due to unfamiliarity with the results of combat. When she said Sigyn was to learn how to deal with weapons being hurled at her at high speeds, she meant it. Sigyn bore the cuts and bruises to show for it.

Of course, she could have had it much worse. True to her word, Sigyn had magic on her side. Self-preservation was instinctual; hardening the air around her had practically been a reflex and it took the brunt of the attacks, at first. But Sif had gotten it right: keeping it up for very long had been tiring. Not to mention, Sif had then decided to just start throwing things from all directions until something actually got through, which proved to be a surprisingly successful strategy. So eventually, Sigyn managed to abandon that method of protection. Besides, meddling with the air too much made it difficult to breathe.

The next obvious tactic was dodging. Decades of Sif dragging her unwillingly to training had made it one of the things that Sigyn was actually fairly skilled in. The problem was that small thrown objects tended to be faster than an attacker, and it took her several hits to the body before she really managed to adjust. But adjust she did, and that worked out for a little bit.

But Sif's end goal was to get Sigyn catching what was thrown at her. So when it was clear that Sigyn could lean, spin, or step out of the way of the blunted (but still painful to be hit with) blades that she threw, Sif decided to step it up a notch. And Sif's way of stepping it up a notch was throwing about twice the blades in half the time.

"_Would you stop pummeling me?_" Sigyn had snapped in a rare break from her usual cool demeanor the first time Sif did this.

"I'll cease when you stop dodging like a coward, Haenirdottir!" Sif had shouted back, hitting her squarely in the collarbone.

Eventually, Sigyn decided that she _would_ use her magic, just not as severely as she began. Instead of hardening the air, she thickened it in a one-meter radius around her. When a projectile was thrown at her, it slowed slightly just before reaching her, allowing her to grab it without much trouble. She was not sure whether or not Sif noticed this, but Sigyn was battered enough at that point to not care at all. When Sif moved on to actual, unblunted knives, Sigyn cut up her hands catching them at first, but was eventually able to pluck them safely out of the air. She noted, though, that the thinner the blade, the less her air-thickening trick worked, which resulted in the shallow lacerations now scattered across her limbs.

So Sigyn ended the day exhausted, but decided to at least heal the cuts with what little energy she had left before she collapsed into unconsciousness for the night. The bruises, she figured, she could deal with tomorrow after a night of rest. It just wouldn't do if she bled all over her sheets.

She had a lot fewer cuts than bruises, though, and they were all little more than grazes, so sealing her skin back up took a little less than half an hour. By the end of it, though, her eyes were rolling up into the back of her head in fatigue, and upon finishing, Sigyn fell backwards onto her bed and almost immediately gave in to slumber.

Her last thought before slipping into unconsciousness was a memory of a strong hand on her cheek and the sensation of smooth, cool lips.

* * *

Sigyn woke up and promptly had to stifle a groan. Her body _ached_, her limbs and torso hot and throbbing painfully. It felt like tiny hands beat on the inside of her skin persistently and demandingly, displeased that a layer of skin blocked their way to freedom to the outside world.

She tried lifting one of her arms. The feeling in it intensified. Wincing, she put it back down again and swore to herself that she was never letting Sif convince her to train ever again.

_Perhaps if you trained more often, you would be strong and fast enough that you would not be so battered after a single day's session_, a sensible voice in her head said. Sigyn pointedly ignored it.

She was less readily able to ignore the fact that she couldn't just lie in bed in pain all day. Sigyn sighed, then winced when the action caused a sharp twinge of pain in her chest. She braced herself, then brought her arms up and pushed herself into a sitting position. She gritted her teeth as pain shot through her bruised body, and she finally opened her eyes and looked at herself.

Purple and blue bloomed over her arms and chest. Sigyn tenderly touched a finger to the center of a patch of color on her forearm and applied the slightest amount of pressure she could. A harsh sting was the result.

She could not go out and be seen like this. Sigyn was going to have to stay and heal herself before leaving to the palace for the day, and she suspected that it was going to take a while. She bit her lip in annoyance, but conjured up the renewed energy from the night's rest back into her hand and placed it on the first of her bruises, beginning the ordeal of repairing the numerous blood vessels hiding under the skin across various parts of her body.

As Sigyn watched splotches of purple turn green and yellow before fading entirely back to alabaster, she made a mental note that healing herself was likely going to warrant another nap to replenish her energy before she was going to go anywhere. The spell was simple enough, but it was a steady drain on her strength like water in a fine sieve.

After the first few healed bruises, Sigyn got into the rhythm of things: mental twist, warm hand, energy flow into skin, tiny pathways knitting themselves back together. It became monotonous as she steadily moved up her arm, and her mind began to drift. It promptly landed on Loki kissing her.

She wrinkled her nose and shoved the thoughts elsewhere, trying again to focus on healing. Apparently, her subconscious was having none of it. The memories popped back into view, unbidden. Her cheek under his solid grasp, her lips claimed under his, so _soft_–

Sigyn shook her head in an attempt to banish the thought, then bit back a groan as an unhealed-as-of-yet patch on her neck ached in protest.

_Why don't you want to think about it?_ a voice in her head piped up.

She paused over a bruise spread over her shoulder and thought about it. It was a valid question; why was she so opposed to dwelling on it? It wasn't really as if his behavior was improper by Asgardian standards. Loki was going to be her husband one day. She knew that. Had she been insulted or upset by his actions? She held the emotions up to the memory and quickly dismissed them when they didn't match up with her feelings.

Was she uncomfortable with it? Sigyn's hand drifted to another bruise over her collarbone as she pondered this. It fit better, but still not quite. She had never shied away from having Loki for a husband. She knew of older Asgardians who chose to remain celibate for their eternal lifetimes, and the idea did not actually appeal to her much. There were others still who sometimes took up with their own sex in secret, and Sigyn brushed the idea away in relation to herself. She definitely wanted a husband. And she was growing into a woman, as her mother now often reminded her, which came with certain desires, she was told. Sigyn had decided to take her mother's word for it, as these desires didn't really seem to make an appearance to her very often.

Kisses, then, were not her forte. She spent time with Loki mainly out of common interest, and somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that there was to be kissing and other such activities somewhere in the future, but she hadn't expected it to be sprung on her so quickly. It was…new.

With that thought, Sigyn managed to click it together. She didn't want to think about Loki kissing her because it was unfamiliar.

Romance stories had never really been of too much interest to her. She wondered now if she should make up for this dearth of information and pick up some stories to read up on the subject. _You're not supposed to read about these kinds of things,_ another voice scolded her. _They are _feelings_. You _feel _them._

Her hand now healing along her ribcage, the memory of the kiss rudely pushed itself to the forefront of her mind once more. Sigyn gave an irritated frown, but made the effort to prevent herself from automatically pushing the thoughts away. So, the sensation was strange and unknown. What now, then?

_Well, would you like to continue?_ the voice prompted her.

She licked the inside of her teeth, thinking. Kisses had always seemed to her a distraction to her female peers within the court. They all seemed so desperate for them, Sigyn had always thought pityingly. Well, now she had gotten a kiss, too. If she admitted it to herself, she was indeed feeling a kind of…newfound curiosity about the matter.

_With anyone other than Loki?_

Sigyn stopped short, her hand hovering over a half healed bruise on her hip. _I am betrothed to him,_ she mentally replied.

_Your point?_ the voice replied snidely.

_My…!_ Sigyn was almost aghast at herself for thinking such a thing. One did not simply gallivant among other men when betrothed to a _prince_, for Norns' sake!

_Adultery among royalty is hardly uncommon. Surely you remember it from your readings of Asgardian history,_ the voice persisted. _And besides, isn't it _you _who always insists on collecting as much data as possible before progressing in your studies? Should you not experience a wider variety of romantic encounters before forming your opinion?_

Sigyn pursed her lips, hesitating to respond to herself.

_Come now. Are you not a scholar? Entertain the possibilities, at the very least._

Her mind almost moved of its own accord. Other men she knew? Her thoughts drifted quickly to the Warriors Three. She immediately dismissed the thought of kissing Volstagg; his appetite always left her nauseated. Fandral too was out of the question; Sigyn had no intention of joining the ranks of his rising number of romantic conquests. It left Hogun the Grim. He typically kept mostly to himself, but then again, so did Sigyn. She got along with him well enough. She pictured their lips joining.

Without warning, her stomach lurched in protest to the thought.

She grabbed at her abdomen, enough of her bruises gone so that the action no longer caused undue amounts of pain. Sigyn's mind raced. What could have possibly caused such a visceral reaction? The memory of Loki's kiss once again made an appearance unasked to the forefront of her thoughts, and the feeling in her guts settled. _No,_ Sigyn practically snapped at herself, _just Loki. No one but Loki._

She could almost see the shrug in the tone of the invisible voice. _Well then, suit yourself._ Her mind went quiet and Sigyn wondered for a fleeting moment if she was going mad.

_Mother would be proud of me,_ Sigyn thought, finishing up healing the last lingering bruises on her legs. _Showing such ingrained fidelity even before marriage._ Her sense of duty and propriety were such that she would confine all future romantic encounters with her betrothed. It would be much cleaner and convenient that way, and she ignored a new, much quieter voice at the back of her head that said her reaction to kissing other men was a bit unusual and might warrant further investigation.

She looked down and saw the last of the bruises on her skin fading away, and found that she was exhausted once again from the extensive healing and mental discourse. Thoughts flickered through her head, disorganized, as Sigyn lay herself back down for more rest. Most of these snippets seemed to include Loki. Many of them were of a now overly familiar memory. She was growing weary of this and was irritated that such a small action had such an emotional influence over her at all. Such irrational behavior was extremely atypical of her. Sigyn didn't like it at all.

She wondered vaguely if Loki was feeling anything similar to this before drifting back to sleep.

* * *

**I would first like to apologize for the delay in this chapter; it's due to a combination of writer's block and me working on a birthday present for one of my friends, which is almost done and looks pretty cool. But I got the bug for this idea and wanted to write it out. It's a bit of a short chapter, this one, but I think I got all the things I wanted in it. It's finally a good look into Sigyn's psyche! The whole multiple conversations with yourself thing is based on frequent arguments that take place in my own head, though admittedly, they've never been about princes kissing me. Just in case there's any confusion, this chapter takes place immediately after the last one.**

**I have two ideas for how I would like the next chapter to progress. I want it to again come immediately after this one (it'll be the last one, I swear I'll move on to something new after it!). The main difference is that it would either be third person limited from Sigyn's point of view, or third person limited from Loki's point of view. I feel more comfortable writing in Sigyn's voice, but I also have a somewhat more concrete idea of where the chapter would go in Loki's perspective. So, I decided to let my readers have some input: do you think the next chapter should be from Loki's or Sigyn's point of view?**

**To the anonymous reviewer who asked for the ages of the characters, I'd say that in this (and the last) chapter, Loki and Sigyn would be around 18 or 19 from a Midgardian perspective. I definitely don't see them as the age they are in Thor yet; I think they still have quite a bit of maturation to go before they get there, but they're growing up quite fast! If anyone wants me to add the ages the characters are in the author notes for any of the chapters, or for future chapters, please go ahead and let me know!**

**And finally, I would like to say thank you to all of my lovely readers, reviewers, and followers! You are all wonderful and it always makes my day whenever I see a notification in my inbox about this story! Remember, if any reader has any requests for what they'd like to see from Sigyn, Loki, or any other characters in this story, tell me in a review and I'll consider writing it into the story! And as ever, please leave me any feedback, advice, or criticisms you have about my story; I'm always looking to improve!**


	7. Chapter 7

As a rule, Loki was quite fond of books. Perhaps they weren't his lifeblood – a trickster always needed victims for his mischief, after all – but as a whole, he enjoyed reading. He liked being knowledgeable and clever, so as a result, he spent quite a lot of his time curled up in the throes of a book, educational or fictional.

Unlike Sigyn, though, who could probably live her whole life in a library and somehow draw her sustenance from the dusty air within, Loki had his own preferences for privacy and comfort. It wasn't as if many people really came into the royal archives, and Loki had several places in it where he could comfortably sit undisturbed, but in his opinion, none of them actually beat staying in his personal chambers and getting to sink his mind into the words printed neatly on the pages. So that was where Loki was now: in an armchair by his bedside reading about the World Tree, Yggdrasil. No one had ever really seen the Tree in its entirety, not even Heimdall, and as a consequence, there seemed to be a lot of conflict from various sources about how precisely it was structured. Loki wanted to see if he could be the first to understand it and draw from it. Where better to figure it out than in his chambers, where he could focus all his concentration on the task at hand? Though of course, reading in his own chambers did have one drawback.

There was a dull thud at the door.

Loki jerked up at the noise, then pressed his eyes together and sighed. _Again?_

It had been a long time since Loki had first chased off Thor from disturbing him when he was in his rooms. After the first few attempts of asking Thor politely, which had done absolutely nothing to dissuade the older prince from coming in uninvited and dragging his beloved brother off for some adventure, Loki had taken to warding his rooms with fear spells. Anyone who tried walking up the staircase would be assaulted with visions of darkness or raging fires, insects and reptiles crawling around and up them, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea – well. Needless to say, it would be a wholly unpleasant experience. If there was ever an emergency, Thor could probably just charge and plow his way through all of it, but Loki learned from experience that there would be quite a lot of bellowing to go along with it. He had rather enjoyed the first time Thor had tried the gauntlet. Well, it wasn't as if he hadn't been warned. It meant that Loki did his own cleaning and tending to the fire after the first serving girl had run off shrieking, but cleaning spells were simple and there was enough magic flying around his fire that he'd rather not any one meddle with it.

Of course, the spells didn't affect Loki's blood. Evidently, brothers were not a close enough relation that the charms would ease up any for Thor. If Odin ever wanted to meet with his sons, he announced it beforehand, so Loki could always remove the wards in preparation. He had recently discovered, though, that there was apparently one who shared enough of Loki's blood to make it up the passage basically unaffected.

There was another thud. Loki gritted his teeth somewhat, but got up and opened the door. Sleipnir stood in the doorway, tail swishing excitedly.

Not for the first time, Loki wondered how Sleipnir even managed to make it up the stairs with eight horse legs. Out loud, he said, "The other horses will mock you for spending so much time with your mother."

Sleipnir nickered in response.

Loki mimicked the noise back at him. "Go spend time with someone else. I'm busy today."

Sleipnir gave a whining neigh and tried to push his way into the room.

Loki placed a hand on the horse's muzzle, halting him. "Stop that," he scolded. He glanced back at his book, lying tantalizingly on the chair cushion, and sighed. "Why don't you go find Sigyn and play with her today?" he suggested enticingly.

At this, Sleipnir looked down and stamped disappointedly. Loki blinked, surprised. "Can you not find her?" he asked curiously. That was odd; it was midday, and Sigyn would have usually made her way to the palace by now. Sleipnir had an uncanny knack for finding the people that he wanted to find. Even if they were in the library, where he was barred, Sleipnir would patiently wait outside the doors. If he hadn't managed to locate Sigyn, it was almost certain that she wasn't there.

Loki wondered briefly if he had scared her off the day before, then remembered that Sif had been planning on pummeling her afterwards. It seemed more likely that Sigyn had been incapacitated by the training round and was unable to move rather than avoiding him.

Or was it really? Loki's brow furrowed as he pondered it. His decision to kiss Sigyn had been uncharacteristically impulsive. He was all for improvisation, but even he hadn't expected the actions out of himself. It had been like he had realized several things at once: that logic was such a natural progression of thought for her, that others' opinions were so insignificant to her, that unlike a great many ladies Loki had met, marriage was the last thing on her mind, and what he had been beginning to notice over the last few years, but had suddenly struck him at that moment, that Sigyn was a stunningly attractive young woman.

So he kissed her. That was typically what young men did when confronted with pretty girls, wasn't it? And while the general female opinion had always tended towards Thor, Loki was something of a master at eavesdropping and had heard on multiple occasions some maidens sighing about his looks and how handsome both of the princes had grown, bemoaning that he had been betrothed so young. Many more of them simply found him frightening, though, or not fitting their desired ideal warrior physique. It tended to be fairly easy to tell the difference in person, and Loki wasn't unfamiliar with charming some women with a well-placed smile or wink into doing what he wanted. He generally found women to be more predictable and easier to manipulate than men. The lady Sif, less so, but that was only because of her familiarity with him, and really, when it came right down to it, anger was easy enough to direct as he wanted if it so suited him.

But Sigyn was different. As far as Loki could tell, Sigyn was his intellectual equal. He had never been foolish enough to try, but he knew that he would be hard pressed to _make_ her do anything that she hadn't intended to do beforehand. She thought about the things she did before she did them. And what she had said before he impulsively kissed her…it had surprised him. In hindsight, it all made perfect sense and fit in with what Loki knew of her, but she had still managed to shock him at the time. Not only that, it had brought something even more startling to his attention; he had never really pursued the romantic aspect of their relationship.

She was going to be his wife someday. Perhaps he should start exploring the things he could and couldn't persuade her to do.

An insistent whinny brought him out of his reverie. Loki looked up and Sleipnir looked back at him pleadingly. "Let's both go looking for her then, hm?" he suggested to Sleipnir playfully. The horse's ears perked up and he straightened, looking hopeful. Loki chuckled. "Perhaps she'll have turned up by now, and we can all play together." Sleipnir neighed excitedly and quickly returned to the head of the stairs, staring at his mother expectantly. Loki rolled his eyes, but still smiled as he followed his son down the steps.

* * *

Perhaps expectedly, Sigyn was not anywhere they could find inside the palace, as Sleipnir had already searched through it fairly thoroughly. So they turned their search outside, and Loki winced when the light and heat of the sun hit him. It wasn't as if it was a broiling day outside, but summer was approaching, and Loki had never been very fond of hot weather. Sleipnir suddenly began snuffling at the air, looking around warily.

Loki raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Find something?" He got an eager look in response. "Well, I do believe you're the faster of us two. Do you mind?" he asked, wrapping a hand in the colt's mane.

Sleipnir was extremely picky about letting anyone ride him. Loki had taken him to Odin many times while he was growing up, and while he was a bit wary of the king at first, it was quickly clear that Odin commanded respect. So he would willingly behave himself and stay beside the All-Father, even if he hadn't yet grown big enough to be a suitable steed. The only person that he allowed to ride him now was Loki, who was small and slight enough to fit comfortably on Sleipnir's back. He didn't even let Sigyn on him; he wouldn't stay still long enough for her to properly mount him, and even when Loki had once scolded him and held him still so that Sigyn _could_ sit on his back, he stubbornly refused to move anywhere until she had finally sighed and slipped back down to the ground, saying out loud that Sleipnir was fast enough that she'd probably just slip off while riding him anyway and that he had probably spared her from looking like a fool. She had given the colt a wink, and he had nuzzled her in response to let her know there were no hard feelings.

Sleipnir stood still at Loki's request, and the prince easily swung himself up. When he was seated solidly, Sleipnir was off. The surroundings vanished only to be replaced with bright lines of blurred color. The still air became gale-force winds, blowing back Loki's hair and pulling insistently at his limbs. He held tightly to the mane still in his hands and put his torso flat to the back of the horse's neck, his eyes stinging slightly and his lips drying out.

They finally slowed, and Loki raised himself to see that they were in the royal gardens. The flora here was incredibly varied, gloriously beautiful, and the envy of every botanist who wasn't lucky enough to obtain work for Asgardian royalty. The flowers were colorful and welcoming, the hedges lovely and picturesque, and the trees were tall and majestic. Resting on the ground in the shade of a weeping willow, curled up, tucked almost out of sight, and sleeping, was Sigyn.

Sleipnir came to a stop and Loki slipped off his back. He gave Sigyn a curious look before turning back to Sleipnir. "So, you couldn't find her earlier because…?"

The horse stamped indignantly and gave an offended neigh. Sleipnir hadn't been gifted with the ability to speak, but Loki could practically feel the message radiating from him. _She wasn't here when I looked before!_ Loki laughed.

"Would the two of you mind keeping quiet?" a new voice asked somewhat croakily, and the pair looked over. Sigyn had cracked an eye open and was looking at them crossly.

Grinning, Loki made a circular motion with his fingers. A few of the nearby plants turned into small snakes that began hissing softly and slithered over to Sigyn's prone form. "My lady, the sun has risen long ago. Don't you think it improper for a woman of your breeding to curl up in slumber outside like some kind of beggar child?" he asked innocently. "You never know what can strike while you sleep."

She barely moved when the snakes reached her legs and started to slither up her dress. She simply raised a hand and pointed sharply at her skirts, and the flowers the snakes had once been tumbled back out the bottom. Oddly, Loki felt both disappointed and excited by her lack of reaction. His usual tricks didn't have the typical effect on her, which he really should have expected.

It did at least prompt Sigyn to open her eyes fully. She squinted slightly and raised a hand the light of the sun, but she looked back at Loki with her eyebrows raised. "Were you planning on cutting all of my hair off too, then?" she asked, her voice now clearer.

"Do you really still expect such a child's trick out of me?" he replied, his eyes gleaming mischievously. "I must be losing my touch." He held out a hand to help her to her feet.

She looked at the hand wearily, then sighed and took it, letting herself be pulled up. She delicately tucked back her blonde hair back behind her ears and rubbed her eyes. Loki watched intently as she shook out a few stray blossoms from her dress and smoothed it out again; it was extremely rare that anyone got to see Sigyn looking even the slightest bit disheveled. He found that he rather enjoyed the sight.

Her voice cut neatly through his thoughts. "My apologies for sleeping out in the open in the middle of the day," she said, finally sounding fully awake. "I am apparently still fatigued from healing myself after the lady Sif's training regime."

"Oh? And how did that go?"

"Painfully." Sigyn covered her mouth with a hand as a small yawn overcame her. "But successfully, it seemed. I could catch each of the weapons she threw at me by the finish. Sif was quite proud of me."

Loki smirked. "Is that so? Would you be so kind as to show me?"

She gave him a look. "Must I?" she asked dryly.

"Oh, I insist," he said, placing a hand over his heart as his smile widened. "I'm quite curious about your training progress."

They looked at each other in silence for a few seconds. Sigyn finally sighed. "Well, I suppose if you insist," she muttered, and wandered in the direction of the training grounds.

Blinking in surprise, Loki stared at her retreating form. He hadn't expected such immediate compliance; he knew quite well her general aversion to strenuous physical activity. His thoughts flitted to the memory of him kissing her, and wondered if the two were related. _Well,_ he mused, _it might be worth pursuing further investigation, at the very least._ He moved to follow her, and Sleipnir fell into step beside him.

"I hope you realize I'm not allowing you into the training grounds," Loki told the colt sternly. Sleipnir whinnied indignantly. "None of that. You know it isn't safe to allow you to wander around an area where battle-mad Asgardian warriors are slinging weapons about."

His head drooped unhappily and Loki sighed at his son's expression. "Why don't you wait at the outskirts of the arena for us? We'll join you again soon."

Sleipnir blew at his lips, a forlorn look in his eyes, but gently butted his head to Loki's shoulder in assent. The prince smiled and gently scratched behind the horse's ears fondly. "Don't worry," he said reassuringly. "We won't be long."

* * *

Whatever Thor or Sif or the Warriors Three had to say about the glory and exhilaration about close quarters combat, Loki didn't bother subscribing to. Battle was about defeating an opponent. He never understood why Asgardian warriors didn't automatically reach the same conclusion as him: one should always try to win with the quickest and most efficient means possible. For Loki, this often meant magic and trickery, but when it came right down to actual fighting, he liked versatility. So, the handheld blades became his preferred method of battle. They were designed as long-range weapons to be thrown at an opponent, but one could easily hold them to stab and slice at a foe from up close. It didn't have the brute destructive force of say, a legendary hammer, but brute destructive force was not Loki's style.

In short, projectile weapons were kind of Loki's thing.

He twirled a dagger around his index finger as Sigyn walked to the center of the plain. He noted with amusement that she was looking around at the arena with a rather unhappy expression.

"Hoping you wouldn't have to return to the site of your recent physical torment so soon?" Loki asked her teasingly.

"I am suppressing conditioned mental trauma as we speak," Sigyn replied with a deadpan delivery and held her hands up in preparation for the incoming barrage.

Loki grinned. He was always delighted when Sigyn's dark humor broke out, which he knew she typically held back for the sake of tact. The court might refer to her as an ice queen, but Loki took this only as a mark of their stupidity. If any of them bothered to speak to her with any modicum of intelligence or sense, he knew she would speak back just as readily. Then, if Sigyn decided that she actually liked you, she would start smiling and verbally prod you with teasing comments that, if one wasn't careful, the meanings of which could subtly slip by.

Any other shows of strong feeling, though, were often almost impossible to pull out of her. It was actually a note of personal pride to Loki that out of anyone they knew, he was the one could incite Sigyn to the most diverse array of visible emotions other than calm, calculating rationality. Surprise, annoyance, enjoyment, even excitement if he managed to catch her just as she perfected a magical technique she had been working on for some time. It was even better when he could draw them out of her against her expectation.

"Let's not delay any longer, then," Loki said brightly, snapping the dagger out of his hand and sending it headed straight between her eyes. To his surprise, he felt an almost imperceptible shift in the air, and Sigyn neatly plucked the blade out of the air, dropping it to the ground.

_Magic,_ he thought, and began to circle her, steadily throwing more blades and stars towards her vitals. Sigyn looked as though she needed focus very closely for each throw, but she was able to snatch each and every weapon safely before it struck her, dropping them at her feet. _Well, two can play at that game._

Loki murmured a word under his breath and sent some energy into the knife he was holding, then threw it unerringly at Sigyn. She snapped her fingers closed over the flat of the blade and suddenly hissed in pain, dropping the weapon hurriedly and clutching at her wrist.

He smirked and put down the other blades he was holding. "Too hot?" he suggested innocently, strolling towards her lazily.

Sigyn looked up at him, now cradling her hand. "Was that necessary?" she asked sourly.

"Come now, Sigyn," Loki chided, "you were using a spell to aid you, so why shouldn't I get to use one too?" He stopped in front of her and said, "Besides, it was the simplest of heating spells. If you had been looking out for it, you should have been able to spot it and simply dodge the thing."

Sigyn looked down and her hand and gingerly uncurled it. A nasty burn slashed across her palm and fingers where she had grabbed the blade. She sighed, then brought her other hand up.

Loki grabbed her wrist and pulled the hand towards him. "Allow me," he offered. Sigyn looked up at him quizzically and he smiled charmingly back at her in return, summoning the warm healing power into his mouth. Very gently, he brought the injured hand up to his face and placed a soft kiss on to the burn, letting the energy flow from his lips to her skin where it busied itself with repairing and replacing damaged skin cells.

He met her eyes. Sigyn had raised her eyebrows in her usual are-you-making-mischief-_again_-Loki expression, but he noted with some triumph that a slight flush had spread over her cheeks.

"Thank you," she said calmly, taking her hand back from his, "I'll be sure to keep on the lookout for magicked weapons the next time blades are being hurled at me." She straightened and smoothed out her skirts. "Other than that, did you find my proficiency adequate?"

Loki smirked as another idea popped into his head. "Certainly, though you should eventually wean yourself off of magical aid to defend yourself; you never know when you might be taken by surprise and haven't yet modified the air to your liking in preparation," he said, picking up another small blade and stepping behind Sigyn. An image of himself materialized on the far edge of the plain with its own dagger, which it was currently spinning lazily in the air. Loki gently pulled Sigyn towards him, her back against his torso. He placed his left hand on her shoulder and his right arm brushed against Sigyn's as he pressed the handle of the blade into her newly healed right hand. "May I propose an alternative?" he asked softly.

Sigyn seemed to stiffen for a moment, but quickly relaxed with a quiet exhale of breath. "Of course," she responded, her voice still level.

He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and lightly tugged it in front of her in a defensive stance. "Rather than catch every blade, just take one," he suggested, tapping the blade in her hand with a finger. "Then use it to knock the other weapons out of the air. Like so." Loki nodded to the double, and it threw its dagger at them. He swiped Sigyn's arm through the air, timing the motion so that the real blade in her hand hit the image in the air. When the two came into contact, the false weapon fizzled out of existence. "This way, if anything coming at you has been cursed, your stolen blade will take the brunt of it, not you," he explained. He moved his head close to hers, a cheekbone resting in her hair and his nose brushing against the outer edge of her ear. "Do you understand?" he purred in her ear.

For several seconds, Sigyn stood still and silent. She finally said, "Ah. You're doing this on purpose."

Loki blinked. "Pardon?"

"This," she insisted and pulled herself away from Loki's hold, turning around to face him. "This sudden change of behavior just now. Getting so close to me, coming into contact with me, speaking the way you are." She didn't seem nervous or unsure any more. In fact, she looked confident in her conclusion, a cold smile playing at her lips. "It's a somewhat crude way of putting it, but you are, for a lack of a better phrase, trying to seduce me. Aren't you?"

They stared at each other, Loki a little unsure how to react. Finally, he broke the silence. "I suppose I _was_ coming on rather strong," he admitted quietly.

"Quite."

He frowned. He hadn't exactly put a name for what he had been trying to do, but Sigyn seemed to have hit the nail on the head without him realizing it. But he didn't like the implications of the phrase. Seducing her…it was like she was some kind of conquest to him. That was a ridiculous notion; Sigyn was already betrothed to him and besides, she wasn't foolish enough to be charmed by a few smooth words. If anything, Loki was just motivated by curiosity that had sprung from kissing her day before. And she hadn't even mentioned the kiss in that list; was she trying to avoid or ignore it?

Sigyn was still staring at him intently. Loki couldn't decipher what expression was on her face, but it certainly didn't look particularly pleased. "I apologize," he offered cautiously. "Did my actions offend you?"

She tilted her head, but her expression didn't change. "…No," she said eventually. "I suppose the realization simply startled me."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" He began to take slow, deliberate steps towards her. She kept still, looking him in the eye.

He wasn't certain what he was doing any more. It seemed like the time for improvisation had arisen; unidentifiable emotions were swirling through his head and his body seemed to thrum excitedly in anticipation, though for what, he didn't know. "I don't suppose, then," he said slowly, still steadily approaching Sigyn, "that you would be too terribly opposed…" He had reached her and stopped inches from her body. She still had not moved away. "…to me getting this close to you again, would you?"

Sigyn kept eye contact determinedly. "I suppose not," she responded, her voice completely even.

He reached up and gently took her chin in his fingers. His gaze was now piercing, and he could feel his pulse in his ears. "We are betrothed, you know," he noted lightly.

"I'm not unfamiliar with the fact," Sigyn said dryly.

"I believe betrothal comes with a few…benefits." Loki could feel the heat of his breath from his words ghost over her face, they were now so close. He wasn't sure if would be able to look away if he tried.

"Does it, now?" Sigyn asked, or maybe she didn't. Loki wasn't certain if he actually heard the words from her mouth, the pounding in his ears had gotten so loud. If he had, her voice seemed lower than he remembered it being.

Their noses touched. He was experiencing the odd sensation of feeling as if he was drowning in the light blue of her eyes. "You are mine," he whispered huskily.

Sigyn's eyes had almost closed. "I suppose I am," she murmured.

His vision blurred. Without warning, their lips connected and suddenly their bodies were pressed together. This kiss was not like the last. There was movement. He could feel their push and pull of their mouths against each other, her lips soft and warm and lovely and perfectly fit to his. One of his hands was around her neck under her jawbone and the other curled around her waist. He could feel her small hands resting on his hips and he felt as if he wanted to lean against her body until they fell into each other forever.

They pulled apart for breath, which seemed to have escaped them both completely. Loki rested his forehead against Sigyn's as he inhaled, and he heard her chuckle softly. "Interesting," she said lightly.

He grinned at her, his eyes glittering. "Only interesting?" he echoed.

She looked up at him and smiled brilliantly. "Very interesting," she whispered, and pressed her lips back to his.

* * *

**It's been a big longer of a wait than I planned for this chapter…so I made it extra long to make up for it! So here's a rather romantic scene, or as romantic as I imagine these two being with each other. I've got to be honest with you guys: I'm not so sure I did that well with this chapter, both with the romance and with Loki's perspective, but I do think I tried my best with them. Please give me feedback and tell me what you think of it; I feel like I really need to improve my flow for future chapters.**

**So, as promised, this is the last bit for this particular point in time, and I will be moving on to a new point in the future for the next chapter. I have a fairly solid idea for what I want to have happen in the very next chapter, but beyond that, it's still rather fuzzy, so I'm still taking requests from anyone who wants me to write any scene in particular into this story! An overarching plot is slowly starting to form in my head, though, so I'm excited to try and bring it to fruition.**

**Sleipnir just sort of suddenly became a much more prominent character than I ever planned him being, but I don't even mind because he's so sweet. What do you all think?**

**A little random, but it's my headcanon that Loki is very good at mimicry without the aid of any kind of magic, much as the real Tom Hiddleston is quite good at impressions. So it might show up in this fic once or twice. For now, it's just Loki making a horse noise at Sleipnir to tease him.**

**To my reviewer Haleigh Duncan, who wanted to know what birthday present I was making for my friend, I was actually drawing a picture! It was of Sherlock from BBC Sherlock, as played by the lovely and talented Benedict Cumberbatch, standing side by side with Loki, as played, of course, by the lovely and talented Tom Hiddleston. We're both part of both fandoms, so I thought she'd appreciate it. :P**

**As always, I am honored and flattered by all of my readers, reviewers, and followers for taking the time to read my story. Please give me any feedback, criticisms, and advice for me that you might have, and thank you all so much for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

"The king? Are you certain?"

The servant assured Sigyn that he was quite sure about the summons, and that he would be glad to lead her to the king's study whenever she was ready.

Sigyn looked back down at her work. Loki had left with Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three to visit Midgard a few days ago. In his absence, Sigyn had decided to research some methods of magical amplification on her own. Loki seemed to innately possess a greater capacity for magical power than she did, even if she was often the one to perfect a technique first. She thought it might be more convenient if she could even the score between the two of them for when they reunited again.

Research into methods of amplification led Sigyn into the field of alchemy, where physical objects anchored the flow of power. The more she read up on the subject, the more she could see the kinds of applications that could be drawn from it. It seemed clear the when alchemy had first been developed, the main purpose of it had been the transformation from one substance to another. Even in Midgard, rudimentary alchemical practice existed, though the Midgardians seemed to want to confine themselves just to turn all metal into gold, which Sigyn took to be exceptionally dull. As far as she could see, alchemists took note of the byproducts that such transmutations created, but considered them mostly unimportant. She was interested in all of these mentions, of gases emitted, of salts that formed, but a running theme that Sigyn spotted was that a result that almost no one seemed to care about except to record it was heat. Warnings that the final product could be dangerously hot to the touch, notes on how long one needed to wait between steps before materials were cool enough again to work with, heat was everywhere in alchemy. And as Sigyn learned in her very first lesson in spellcraft, what was heat if not the release of confined energy?

So she had set to work, looking for a reliable way to harness that energy to perform her own spells. She had decided to start with a natural heat-producing reaction that she had become familiar with: the burning of wood. She wondered that she had never really thought of it before; it only took the smallest spark of energy to make firewood alight and give off ample amounts of heat and light before the wood dissolved away into ash and coals. She had gone to one of the local carpenters and requested some blocks of various dry woods for her experiments. Currently, Sigyn had managed to whittle down a fist-sized sphere of white ash, beech, and black walnut each. She had been in the middle of carefully carving runes into the surface of one when the servant had entered her workspace and announced that Odin wished to speak with her.

Sighing, Sigyn put the tool down and stood, wincing as her joints creaked slightly in protest. Apparently, she had been sitting there longer than she thought. Brushing her clothes smooth, she nodded to the servant, who turned and lead her into the depths of the palace.

* * *

"Enter," rumbled a deep voice when the servant rapped firmly on the sturdy, ornate door. He opened it and bowed as Sigyn stepped in, then closed the door behind her.

The All-Father's study was imposing. Odin sat alone at an expertly constructed and painted desk facing the far wall that looked as if it could house every scrap of paper in the palace. Cabinets lined the walls with names of realms, precincts, and noble families carved neatly into the drawers. Books and scrolls had been placed precisely on shelves, though one shelf seemed to be entirely filled with what looked like navigational tools and instruments. Nothing looked out of place. Sigyn felt a sudden phobia of touching a single object in the room for fear of disturbing anything, and an irrational thought that flitted quickly through her head wondered if she was really allowed to step onto the beautifully stitched rug in the middle of the room.

Upon hearing her come in, Odin turned in his seat and smiled. "Ah, Lady Sigyn," he said approvingly, lacing his fingers together as he spoke. "It has been a long time since we have last spoken directly to one another."

Sigyn bowed her head. "I am honored that you would speak with me once more, my king," she responded deferentially.

Odin chuckled softly. "No need for such extreme formality, my lady," he told her admonishingly, "you will one day join into our family, will you not?"

"Until that day, my king, I shall continue to pay you the respect due to you from any other citizen in the realm," Sigyn replied, a respectful smile on her face, though she did at least allow herself to look him in the eye.

"My lady, you treat an old man too well," he said, a twinkle in his eye. "But enough pleasantries, I think. To business."

Odin leaned forward in the chair, staring at Sigyn intently, his expression now serious. She felt a sudden sense of déjà vu as her memory flitted to a time when she was just a little girl trying not to fidget as the king sized her up in her room. She stood perfectly still now under his scrutiny, though a sense of apprehension was still coming over her.

"Do you remember," he suddenly said, "the conversation I had with you, all those decades ago, when I first met you, Lady Sigyn?"

Sigyn blinked in surprise. Apparently her train of thought was one step ahead of her today. She certainly did remember: his questions about her books, her accidental outbursts, trying to convince him that she wasn't a warrior because she had heard tales of the reckless, boisterous crown prince and didn't want to have to marry him, her fright the entire interview that she would say something wrong and ruin everything, her sudden surprise when Odin strode out of the room and announced that she would marry Loki instead, her father's delight at the announcement and telling her after Odin had left that this was an _important and exceptional opportunity_ and that she must make the most of it. She wasn't likely to forget about it any time soon. "I believe so, my king," she answered out loud.

"So then, do you recall the question I posed to you about your thoughts about the Frost Giants?"

She tilted her head in confusion, but nodded. "I do."

Odin's wrinkled face broke into a knowing but grizzled smile. "Now, I believe you answered me then with a lie. It was for a purpose, and told me much about your character, so do not think I tell you this with disapproval. But I asked you this question then with the intent of gleaning an honest answer from you. I think now I can ask you again and get your true thoughts will all of the necessary consideration and thoughtfulness I have come to expect from you." He clasped his hands together, and his gaze on Sigyn became determined and piercing. "So, may I ask you, Lady Sigyn, what you think of the Frost Giants?"

Whatever Sigyn had been expecting out of this meeting, this hadn't been it. So she stood in silence for a moment trying to collect her thoughts on a subject matter that hadn't entered her mind in many years. "…To be honest, All-Father," she finally said, "I do not think much about them at all."

He nodded. "Understandable. But you have formed _some_ sort of opinion on them, I must imagine."

She shrugged. "I suppose I think of them as simply another subject to be studied. I can by no means claim to know nearly as much about the jötunn as I do about Asgardians, but from what I have learned…" Sigyn looked up, mentally cataloguing. "They make up a very warlike society. They are, on the whole, physically much bigger than the average Asgardian, and their powers are typically combat-based. Though I do not think much of how their power relies so much on one artifact as much as they do on the Casket of Ancient Winters. As the war between us demonstrated, too much of their strategy is based on a single link in the chain, and it fell apart when the Casket was taken away." She looked up and felt a small curl of anxiety in her stomach at the next thought that popped into her head. "I would be very grateful if you would not share what I say next with anyone, my king," she said nervously, "but they rather remind me of Thor."

At this, Odin let out a booming laugh. It quickly petered into a chuckle, but it lasted a while, as if he was enjoying some sort of private joke. "Ho…not to worry, my lady, I know quite well the sort of consequences that would result should words of those sort reach my son's ears," he sighed, finally calming down. "You think the Frost Giants foolish, then?"

Sigyn frowned slightly. "Not foolish so much as thoughtlessly headstrong, my king," she said, then shook her head and quickly rectified, "Though I might be categorizing too quickly. I have never met a jötunn."

Odin raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And if you should meet a Frost Giant, Lady Sigyn? What would you do?"

Sigyn's knee-jerk reaction, had she had been talking to any other person but the king, would have been to sarcastically ask if they planned on introducing her to one any time soon. But the All-Father did not waste his words; if he was asking her this, he had a reason. It might not be immediately obvious (who could really follow the schemes of the All-Father but him?), but they were there and she would do well to answer as well and fully as possible. So she thought, but she couldn't help but ask, "Would this Frost Giant be attacking me?"

"Do you think that would be what a Frost Giant would do upon seeing you, Lady Sigyn?" Odin asked lightly.

"Well…" she faltered, at a momentary loss for words, but quickly collected herself. "If he, or she, didn't, I think I would like to ask them questions about Jotunheim and the magic that they possess. But I am an Asgardian, so an attack might be fairly likely."

"You would not be frightened of them?"

She stopped. She was feeling more and more unsure of her answers as Odin kept prodding her with questions. Sigyn was a scholar. Of course she'd love to know more about jötunn magic; the principles of magic from all realms fascinated her. Obtaining information was sometimes dangerous, but you still got it so that you could know. There hardly seemed like a less easy way to learn something than just by asking someone who know, but then again, as Odin pointed out, they _were_ talking about Frost Giants. The stories about them told to Asgardian children painted them as ruthless and savage. But she would be a terrible academic if she just took someone's word for a truth of the world without any kind of investigation of her own. Out loud, she said, "If they were not attacking me…then I do not think so, my king."

"If one was, then?"

Sigyn glanced down at herself almost self-consciously. There was not a single stretched, implausible scenario where she, with her soft, slight frame, could ever have the prowess to best a jötunn at physical combat. But that meant next to nothing to her.

"In that case," she started slowly, "I would do my best to escape. I doubt I would be able to outrun him, but I could always use magic to aid me, or simply outsmart him."

"Do you think it so likely that you could outsmart a jötunn?" Odin asked, his brow furrowed. "I have met several; they can be very cunning."

She raised an eyebrow. The next words out of her mouth came out almost on reflex. "With all due respect, my king, so can I."

Odin looked over her expression carefully, then smiled. "Thank you for your time, Lady Sigyn," he said, inclining his head. "You may go."

_What, is that it?_ Sigyn thought, confused, though did not say out loud. It was an abrupt ending, but he was the king. She bowed respectfully, then turned and left. She didn't see, but Odin followed her departure with his eyes, nodding to himself thoughtfully as he watched her go.

* * *

Sigyn tried to return to her studies, but the meeting had left an ominous feeling in the pit of her stomach. Why ask her about the Frost Giants? Did the All-Father have plans for her to meet some? Not just meet some, was she supposed to _fight_ some? But he had smiled, she had thought approvingly, when she said she could escape them. It didn't seem the sort of information Odin would want to know if she was to become some sort of diplomat between the two worlds. Or maybe it was? If she was to become some sort of messenger to Jotunheim and a Frost Giant attacked her in anger during negotiations, it would probably be a better political move for Asgard to run away and keep herself safe instead of striking back in defense. And moreover, she suddenly realized, Odin had asked her this when she was a _child_, when he had been judging her as a possible future wife for his sons! Was this something that a wife to a prince had to do? Be a diplomat to another realm? But to _Jotunheim_? That seemed like a delicate matter than the king would normally take care of himself. He had overseen all of the drafting of the treaties himself, after all. It seemed a little ridiculous to Sigyn that he would start trusting a woman who was going to marry into the royal family with these affairs.

_He wouldn't just be trusting a random noblewoman, he'd be trusting _you, a small voice in her head noted. She mulled it over in her head, but didn't particularly enjoy the prospect. Politics was well within her abilities, but frankly, she didn't enjoy it much. So much interpersonal communication tired her out. She'd rather stick to her investigations of magical theory.

Whatever the All-Father had planned for her, Sigyn suddenly felt woefully unprepared for it. Loki's words from a time not so long ago floated to the forefront of her mind. _You should eventually wean yourself off of magical aid to defend yourself; you never know when you might be taken by surprise._ Perhaps she really should be learning more about battle. At the very least, she should condition herself to be faster. Actually running away always seemed like a fairly reliable fallback if one could do it.

She sat and stared at the carved spheres sitting on the desk in front of her for a few seconds. Abruptly, she stood up and headed outside to the training arena, leaving her half-finished work behind.

* * *

Volstagg yelped stumbled as a small animal darted through his feet and into some trees beside him.

Fandral laughed delightedly. "Has our mighty giant fallen prey to the fearsome creature of legend, the Midgardian squirrel?" he called out over his shoulder.

As Volstagg growled and chased after Fandral through the clearing, Sif's eyes followed the squirrel's path through the trees. "It's certainly a fearless little thing, that creature, to run through our company like that," she remarked. "And is it not growing too cold for it to be awake this season?"

"Are you all going to admire the local wildlife for much longer, or will we actually get to our destination before the sun goes down?" Loki interrupted, ahead of the party with Thor, looking on at the antics of the warriors in amusement.

"Yes, my friends!" Thor boomed, a large and recently deceased animal slung over a shoulder. Loki resisted the urge to clap his hand over the ear closest to his brother from the volume. "I look forward to the hospitality that the Midgardians shall provide us when we enter their company with a mighty stag as a feast offering!"

"It was not so mighty, brother," Loki said with a shrug. "The beasts of Asgard provide much more fight than this one did."

"Then we shall offer them a beast of Asgard on our next visit, brother, and our welcome shall be all the more celebrated!" Thor declared. Loki rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smile at Thor's enthusiasm.

Fandral, massaging a shoulder that had hit the ground after Volstagg had tackled him, caught up with the princes before he could be attacked again. "All right, all right, we'll try to stop fooling around," he panted. "I'm looking forward to seeing these lights of legend the locals speak so much about."

"They warned that the lights may not show," Hogun told him sternly. "They emerge unpredictably, especially this early in the season."

"We can stay until they appear," Loki said dismissively. "The Bifrost site will wait for us, and there are animals aplenty for us to provide them with. Hopefully, some will make more of a challenge for Thor than this one, and perhaps he may share the thrill of the hunt with us next time."

"You can amuse them with your magic while we wait, eh, Trickster?" Volstagg said with a laugh. "No need to get out of practice while we're here!"

They left the field, travelling northwards and heading towards the nearby village that Thor insisted was there, squirrels chattering behind them.

* * *

**Are those the first hints of a plot I smell? Hmm…**

**In case you're wondering, Thor & company are in Midgard to see the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, which are visible in northern Scandinavia from late autumn to winter/early spring. Not as flashy as the Bifrost, perhaps, but still pretty enough to give the realm a visit. They're not going to be in Midgard for long; I'll probably bring them back to Asgard by their next appearance unless requested otherwise.**

**Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and the appearance of Daddy Odin. I actually quite like this one, but if you disagree or have problems with anything here, please review and let me know! Or conversely, tell me if you did like and what you liked about it! My writing really is helped a lot by any feedback that you guys can give me.**

**As always, I'm extremely flattered and grateful for all the follows, favorites, and reviews that you all provide me with, and welcome any critiques, tips, or advice that anybody has to give me. The story is going to start picking up soon, but I'm still open to hearing any requests from readers for scenes that they'd like me to write in. See you all next time!**


	9. Chapter 9

Sigyn felt astonishingly out of her element.

On the occasions that she actually came to the training grounds, it was almost always due to someone dragging her there. The one time she ventured down herself, it was to search for Loki. She had never come to seek training for herself, and now that she was doing so, she couldn't help but feel somewhat lost. She stood at the entrance, hearing the sounds of crashes of weapons and shouts from warriors in the middle of workout regimes and mock battles, and feeling as if it was absurdly irrational how difficult she was currently finding the task of taking a simple step forward.

_Stop being unreasonable,_ Sigyn told herself sternly. _You thought it was a good idea to learn how to defend yourself; stop cowering at the foot of the arena like a stubborn child._

She took a calming breath _not that she was nervous about this, that would just be stupid_ and stepped inside.

The majority of the ruckus inside stayed the same when she entered, but a few clashing blades faltered when their owners saw her. It wasn't exactly common fare to see a woman wandering through the grounds. Sif was almost always the only one, and she was typically dressed in sturdy men's clothes and armor. Sigyn wore a lavender silk dress and somewhat delicate slippers. She was annoyed at this. Why hadn't she thought to change into something more suitable before she came down here? This wasn't like her at all; she almost always thought these things through before diving right in. Who was she, Thor? Her meeting with Odin had apparently shaken her up to the extent where she immediately thought she had to do something to improve herself. Well, she could always change her apparel with magic if she needed to. Until then, the men stared at her as she passed by. She determinedly walked forward without making eye contact with any of them.

Her destination wasn't far. In the center of the grounds, there was a forge where most of the weapons that were used here were handmade. Occasionally, warriors would go in and have something commissioned for battle. The weapons that came from there weren't always the most flashy or decorative, but they were always the hardiest and the most reliable. Sigyn, though, wasn't there to ask to have something made for her.

Upon approaching the forge, she could hear a steady clanging from within. She wasn't entirely sure whether or not it would be improper to interrupt the work going on inside, but she wanted her trek here to _result_ in something, so she curled her hand around the cast-iron knocker on the door and rapped it firmly on the wood. When the noise that resulted barely compared to the clanging inside, Sigyn realized that her strength alone wasn't enough to draw attention. So she steeled herself, then called out, "Pardon me? I would like to speak with the Weaponsmaster."

The clanging stopped. Sigyn barely had time to take a hurried step back before the door was flung open, almost hitting her in the face. Towering in the doorway, wielding a well-worn sledgehammer, was Bëor the Weaponsmaster.

Bëor was a big man, built like a battering ram and scarred from long days of service to Asgard in battle. Muscles bulged in his arms and torso while his legs had grown stocky and strong from the years spent in front of the furnace and anvil. To the inexperienced eye, it might look as if his movements would be slow and cumbersome and that he would only be good for wielding something large and heavy, but everyone at the palace knew of his legendary skill in all manners of weaponry, be it quick and elegant, large and blunt, long-range, close-combat, and all others besides.

Sigyn swallowed nervously. He was bigger than she had pictured.

Bëor squinted at her, mouth drawn into a frown. "So, it _was_ a woman's voice I heard at my door," he rumbled. "What business does a maiden of the court seek with the Weaponsmaster, eh?"

Sigyn drew herself up as straight as she could, ignoring the anxious pounding in her ears. "I wish to learn how to defend myself. I request your assistance in this matter," she declared.

He scratched at a grizzled mustache and beard. "Are you friend to the lady Sif, then?" he asked, looking amused at her request.

"I am," she replied, her mouth set firmly. "She has taken me here and trained with me before."

She kept her gaze on Bëor as he started to look her over. His frown seemed to get more and more pronounced the more he looked. _He thinks me unfit to train,_ she realized. Not that he wasn't unjustified in thinking so; women learning to fight was against the norm, and Sigyn had taken care to cultivate the look of the polite, demure noblewoman in her appearance. Surprising even herself, she burst out, "I realize that I do not look as if I am fit for combat. It is because I am not. I came here to fix this, and I wish for help."

Bëor's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and for a moment, there was silence. He then began to laugh, a low booming noise that made the boards under Sigyn's feet rumble in sympathy. "A determined young thing, aren't you?" he chortled. "Come in, then, if you truly wish to learn." He turned right back around and headed back to his anvil, and Sigyn quickly followed him in.

"I believe I recognize you now," he bellowed as he resumed his work crafting a broadsword. "The lady Sigyn, are you not?" Sigyn nodded, though she had no idea whether he actually noticed. She doubted her voice would actually carry over the noise.

"Our Lady Sif was pummeling you not so long ago here," he continued, heedless of his audience reaction. He stopped hammering at the metal to peer at the edge of the blade. "And very soon after, you returned with Prince Loki." Bëor glanced up and grinned somewhat cheekily at her. "It looked as if you two were enjoying your stay."

"Yes, that was I," Sigyn confirmed, and she hoped that Bëor would believe that the blood that was rushing to her cheeks was due to the heat from the furnace and no other reason. "Those were fairly unstructured visits," she said, raising her voice as he returned to his hammering, "and I was hoping you could instruct me on how I might go about conditioning myself against a wider variety of possible attack."

Bëor stopped hammering at the metal and placed the sword on a low, long rack in the oven. He plucked out another, thinner sword from a higher rack, which was glowing red with heat, and plunged it into a tall bucket of water. As steam hissed around them, he turned an eye towards Sigyn. "My first piece of advice, lady: speak simpler here. The warriors here are unused to your kind of scholarly language." He waved a large hand to cut off the beginnings of her stammered apologies and said, "Now, I don't have the time out of my day to properly instruct someone so fresh, not even a high-ranking lady such as you."

"I understand," Sigyn responded, though she couldn't help but feel a slight pang of disappointment. She had hoped that she wouldn't have to figure this all out by herself, or even less appealingly, have to ask one of the staring fighters outside to help her. "If you could just show me where to start, I'm sure I could–"

"No, no, no," he promptly cut her off, taking out the thin blade from the water and examining it with a critical eye before replacing it carefully back on the rack, "someone as green as you is going to need a proper teacher if you plan on actually getting anywhere." He stepped back and wiped his hands on a nearby rag. "And with our Lady Sif out to Midgard, the fools outside will likely pester and harass you until she returns to knock some sense back into them. No, I've an idea for you." He opened another door in a corner behind him, and Sigyn could see that it was another exit outside. "Beren!" he roared.

Nothing happened. "Pah," Bëor scoffed, "late as usual, that one." He glanced at the oven. "While we wait, how about we decide on a weapon for you, hmm?"

"Oh, no, I don't need a weapon," Sigyn quickly protested, "I simply want to learn to defend myself, it's not–"

"Listen," Bëor growled, "weapons are not simply tools used to kill. There are a great many dedicated solely to help you protect yourself, and you never know what situation you may find yourself in where you want every option available to you. No, mark my words, a weapon is key." He stood up straighter and quickly sized her up. "So, not something too heavy for you. Nothing that relies on brute force will do you much good, I think."

She thought briefly of Loki. "Something small, that I can throw, perhaps?"

He quickly waved a hand at the idea, displeased. "No, no, you'd need a great deal more strength conditioning before you could throw anything far or firm enough to make a difference." Sigyn tried not to be too offended by the abrupt dismissal. "No, a small and lighter weapon, but one that you would keep by your side. But something good for defense…" he muttered to himself. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. "I believe I have just the thing. Stay here; I'll go and fetch them." He turned and stepped though another door, where she was able to quickly glance and see a wide array of weapons hanging on the near wall before they disappeared behind the closed door.

_Them?_ she thought to herself. Was Bëor planning on bring several of whatever it was he had thought of to see which she would be the most comfortable with? That seemed rather generous of him. She stood and waited patiently inside the room, her eye drifting around to the different tools lying around the forge. She wondered if Bëor had made all of them by hand.

The door in the corner suddenly opened and smacked the wall with a bang, and a tall, well-built, and somewhat dirty boy tumbled inside. Sigyn looked at him interestedly, and he straightened up.

"Sorry, Father, I –" he began, and looked up to see Sigyn standing in the middle of the room. His voice died in his throat and the apologetic smile that had been plastered on his face quickly faded away. He stared at her, his face slightly flushed.

Sigyn wished these men would stop staring at her as if she was some sort of circus attraction. Bëor had said once Sif returned, she would probably put an end to it. Sigyn found herself surprisingly looking forward to their return to Asgard more for Sif now than for Loki. Who was this boy, anyway?

Bëor came back into the room holding two pointed objects. His eyes immediately alighted on the new arrival. "Ah, there you are, boy," he said, his eyes gleaming somewhat deviously.

The boy jumped, finally tearing his eyes away from Sigyn. "Oh! Uh, yes, father, you called for me?"

"I did, and it took you long enough to get here," Bëor rumbled, and the boy flushed further, stammering out, "Well, I –"

"It's no problem, though we'll discuss your timeliness later," Bëor interrupted. "Now, my lady," he said, now addressing Sigyn, "this is my son, Beren. He will be overseeing your training as you see fit, so long as they don't interfere with his duties at the forge." He turned back to Beren. "This is the lady Sigyn. She wishes to learn to fight."

"To defend myself," Sigyn corrected automatically.

Bëor's mustache twitched as he smiled. "Yes," he agreed, then handed her one of the objects he had retrieved from the other room handle-first. "So what think you of these, my lady?"

Sigyn took the object and examined it. The handle was like the handle to a small longsword, not like the curved handguards of the rapiers that Fandral was so fond of. There was a thin metal rod sticking straight out from the handle, with two smaller, curved prongs sticking out from the side. Each prong of metal was tapered somewhat at their tips, though none of them sharpened to a point. It was about the length of Sigyn's forearm, though Bëor was so big, they had been barely bigger than his hands. If she had to describe it someone, she would say that the object in her hand was essentially a hand-held trident.

She tossed it from hand to hand experimentally, and was frankly surprised that she managed to catch it. It wasn't featherlight, but it certainly wasn't excessively heavy, either; it felt solid in her hand. She spun the handle and watched the light catch on the prongs. "What is it?" she asked.

"It is called a sai," Bëor explained. "They come from the homeland of Hogun the Grim. It can be used as both an offensive and defensive weapon, though the wielder must be very skilled to use the offensive side of it lethally. As a defensive weapon, it is exceptional in the blocks and parries one can perform with it, and given enough practice, you can learn to capture sword attacks in the prongs to disarm your opponent. Also," he said, offering her the second sai he retrieved, "they are typically used in pairs."

Sigyn took the second sai and held them both up, one in each hand. To her surprise, she liked the way they looked. "I like them," she voiced aloud. "I would like to learn how to use them."

"Good!" Bëor boomed, then clapped a hand onto Beren's shoulder, who had returned to staring at Sigyn while she had been looking over the sai. He jumped to attention again at the hand. "This one will begin teaching you how to use them properly." Bëor pushed Beren roughly towards the door in the corner and beckoned Sigyn towards it as well. "Get to it and leave, then; I've blades to temper and don't need younglings such as yourselves mucking about with new weapons in the forge while I do so!" Sigyn quickly vacated the room, clutching the handles of the sais.

Once the two were outside, the door slammed shut behind them. Beren quickly dusted himself off, and Sigyn turned to him, looking him over closely. Beren looked to be about Thor's height, built leaner than Thor, though heavier than Loki. He had light brown hair that fell into hazel eyes, his nose thin-bladed and his mouth wide, but not full-lipped. His hands were large and callused, and he was currently wringing them together somewhat nervously. He caught her looking at his hands, though, and promptly stopped. Now that they were outside and Sigyn's full attention was now on him, Beren no longer seemed able to look her in the eye as opposed to how readily he had been staring at her earlier.

"So, ah…you're really here to learn how to fight?" he asked, looking down at his shoes.

Sigyn nodded, then realized he wasn't going to see if he was so determined not to look at her. She resisted the urge to sigh exasperatedly and instead said, "Yes, I am."

He glanced up at her for a moment then quickly turned his head off to the side. "If you don't mind me saying, my lady, you don't seem…well…you're not very…" he floundered nervously.

"Not very much like Lady Sif, you mean?" Sigyn supplied, and he finally _finally_ met her eye, giving her an anxious smile. "Basically, yes," he agreed, scratching at the back of his head, embarrassed.

"I like to think of that as a good thing," she said solemnly. "I'm not sure Asgard could handle the destruction two Lady Sifs could wreak."

Beren stared at her, unsure if she was joking or not. Sigyn gave him a small smile to comfort him, and upon seeing it, he returned it with a wide grin of his own. It faded suddenly, and he turned red. "Um, I'm very sorry, my lady, I've a terrible memory, I think I might have…"

"Oh," she said, realizing the problem. "I am Sigyn," she supplied politely, inclining her head gently. "Sigyn Haenirdottir."

"Right, yes!" he said, looking relieved. He stuck out an open hand. "Beren Bëorson."

Sigyn stared at the outstretched hand curiously.

Beren went red again. "Oh, right, I'm very sorry," he babbled, "It's a commoner greeting, of course a lady like yourself wouldn't know it…"

"How do I respond?" Sigyn asked, holding both sai in her left hand and tentatively raising her right.

"Um, well," Beren stammered, then swallowed and straightened up. "You put out your hand like I have mine, and we clasp hands."

Sigyn did so, the tips of her fingers just barely being able to curl around his palm. She could feel how tough his skin was compared to the delicate texture of her own skin. _Well, that will likely change soon,_ she thought to herself.

"And then we shake, like so," he completed, shaking their hands up and down.

Sigyn smiled; the greeting was oddly charming. "All right, then," she said, looking him in the eye. "Well met, Beren Bëorson."

Beren beamed back. "Well met, Sigyn Haenirdottir," he replied, then tentatively let go of her hand. He turned and walked into the area before them. "If you're ready, then, my lady, let's begin."

* * *

**Hello, all! Sorry for the delay; I've been moving out of my old apartment over the last week, which didn't leave much time for writing. But I'm all settled now, and better yet, I've got about a week and a half before I'm back to school, so hopefully I can bang out a chapter or two in good time before I'm back to the old grind!**

**I noticed that I gained quite a few more followers than usual after the last chapter I posted. Hello to all of you! I hope that you enjoy my story and that it lives up to your expectations! I'd love to hear from you all, so be sure to tell me your thoughts about it!**

**So, here begins the hopefully short trend of chapters where Loki and Sigyn will not actually be doing something related to each other. Not to worry; it shouldn't last very long, but I promised in the summary growing as individuals as well as with each other, and, perhaps surprisingly, Loki's and Sigyn's lives don't actually revolve around each other (yet…? Lol). Don't worry, they're each doing their own thing for a reason, and I promise it's all going to come in handy eventually when they're back together. We'll follow a bit more of Sigyn's weapons training in the next chapter before getting back to Loki's shenanigans.**

**Just in case it was unclear, this chapter takes place later in the same day as the last chapter. I made up Bëor and Beren myself, though I took their names from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion. Also, please please please, if any of you have any kind of knowledge or experience in blacksmithing or weapons training and you've spotted something I've done wrong, for God's sake, let me know. I did a lot of preliminary research about the forging process and sai usage, but by no means do I classify myself as an expert in either field. I want to do my best to make sure I've done this thing right, so please tell me if I've made a mistake! (On a tangential note, while I was researching training with sais, I found out that Chris Colfer from Glee knows how to use them like a boss. Who knew?)**

**Anyway, as always, thank you all for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following me and my story! I'm always extremely flattered whenever I see a notification in my inbox about it, and I hope I do you all justice! Again, if any of you have any requests for scenes you want to see written in this story, tell me in a review and I'll consider writing it in! Please remember to leave any sort of feedback, tips, or criticisms you might have for me, and I'll see you all soon!**


	10. Chapter 10

It took a week or so before the first calluses started developing on Sigyn's hands, though they had begun as blisters. The beginnings of weapons training turned out to be as monotonous and painful as she had always imagined, but she had made the decision to learn, and she wasn't about to stop now. Her first main task was to master switching between the two main grips of holding sai, from which almost all other movements of the fighting style would stem.

Sigyn's first instinct had been simply to curl all of her fingers around the handle in a fist, but apparently, this wouldn't give her enough strength or stability when handling the weapons. Her thumb went on the joint between prongs while her index finger extended sideways along the horizontal bar of the side prongs. The second grip had her holding the sai handlefirst, thumb hooked around a prong, index finger extended along the handle, and main prong kept close the forearm.

She had taken to bringing the sai with her wherever she went, spelling them invisible and continually practicing the flipping motion. It made her look oddly twitchy to anyone who might spot her, but Sigyn had never quite managed to train the recluse out of herself, so she didn't meet with many people anyway. Only when the sai started feeling like lead weights and her arms loudly ached in protest would she give herself a break and banish the sai to her dimensional pocket.

Beren had been astonished the first time Sigyn had come to the training ground and magicked the sai into existence from what had apparently been thin air.

"Was…was that magic?" Beren asked softly, staring at the weapons wonderingly.

"It was," Sigyn answered with a nod. She raised an eyebrow at his amazement. "Have you never seen any before?"

"No, never." Beren blushed. Sigyn noted that he seemed to do that a lot. "Magic, well…it's for more educated folk, you see. And more people want to learn to fight then to cast spells, so I've never seen anyone do it."

She considered this. "Then perhaps I will show you more later," she decided aloud. She gave Beren a polite smile. "As payment for your lessons."

He looked shocked and delighted by this. "Do you mean it?" he asked eagerly.

She raised her eyebrow again, but her smile widened. "Most people are not so excited about a magic display. I think many would say that I was cheating you of rightful compensation."

"Oh, no, I'm–" Beren stammered. Sigyn noted that he seemed to do that a lot, too. "I mean, I'm sure it would be amazing. You…are you good at magic?"

"I'm very good." Perhaps not very humble, but it was true.

"If you don't mind me asking, then," he said, averting his eyes _must he keep doing that?_, "why would you want to learn to fight if you can do magic so well?"

She shrugged. "Magic can only take you so far," she stated offhandedly. "And it draws from your own energy, so using too much can exhaust you. If I become more physically fit, it will improve my capacity to perform magic as well."

"Oh…I see." He produced his own pair of sai tucked into his belt. She raised her own and nodded at him, ready to imitate his motions.

"It looks as if you can switch grips well now, so I'll teach you how they would be used in a battle." Beren flipped his sai, holding them handle-forwards.

"If you want to defend yourself, you'll probably use these forms the most," he told her. He let Sigyn mock attack him with her sai from above, below, and the side, showing how the main prong laying against his forearm would take the attack. "It'll block all sorts of weapons, blunt and bladed, as long as you hold your stance strong."

Sigyn looked down at the sai she held skeptically.

Beren smiled. "I promise it works, my lady. You'll have to get quicker and stronger before you can really handle them effectively, but it's actually pretty amazing to see someone who knows how to use them stop all sorts of large, bulky attacks. Maybe one day, I can get Father to demonstrate all the things you can do with them."

"How did the Weaponsmaster even become so skilled in such a wide variety of weapon disciplines?" Sigyn inquired curiously.

"Father always aspired to be a master craftsman," Beren said, absently cycling through some forms with his sai as he looked up thoughtfully. "He travelled all over the Nine Realms learning from anyone who would teach him. A lot of the forges he learned at made him use what he created to fight against the master smiths, and they wouldn't let him leave until he could defeat them."

"Does your father require you to endure a similar experience?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

He smiled sheepishly. "My lessons are not so brutal, as he is quick to remind me. I can hold my own using lots of weapons, but I have much to learn before I could defeat my father using any of them."

"Aspiring to defeat the Weaponsmaster? That's quite the goal."

Beren laughed. "I can dream, can't I? Is there a goal that you work towards, my lady?"

Sigyn blinked, surprised. She had never thought much about a long term goal, other than acquiring as much knowledge as possible. She looked up and thought.

"I would like to become a greater sorcerer than Prince Loki," she finally said.

"Than the prince?" Beren repeated, sounding impressed. "I suppose we both have a lot of work to go."

"Yes," Sigyn agreed, "I suppose we do." She looked down at the sai still in her hands, and she held them up. "Also, I would like to become proficient in my use of these."

"Well, with any luck, I can help you with that, my lady," Beren said, smiling hopefully at her.

She returned the smile and nodded. She flipped back the sai and prepared to begin her practice in the new stances.

* * *

Loki sat at the edge of the city, scowling as he wrote. This dearth of information was quickly turning from fascinating to infuriating. The more information he collected about Yggdrasil, the less anything about it came together. Any Asgardian child knew that the Nine Realms hung off the branches of the Tree like otherworldly fruit, but any sort of information about how the realms were structured on it conflicted with each other. No one seemed to know what precisely grew from the tree, what lived between the realms, where it grew from, or even exactly how big it was at all.

He paused and looked over his notes again carefully, reading what little he could find that remained constant no matter what source it came from:

One: The World Tree had three main roots that extended beneath the bottommost realms.

Two: Those roots were nourished by some sort of wells or lakes at their base.

Three: One of these wells was governed by the three Norns, who dutifully watered Yggdrasil's root regularly. This well was considered to be the holiest of the three wells (though in exactly what way the other wells differed was not clear).

Four: There was something (though it was unsure precisely what) that was chewing at the roots of the Tree. This, Loki noted, had the odd effect of actually keeping Yggdrasil's growth in check. From what he could see, if whatever was chewing at the roots stopped, the Tree would grow further and further to what would eventually be disastrous size, where it would no longer be able to sustain itself and, Loki theorized, the Nine Realms might actually start crashing into each other as the branches of the Tree wilted.

Five: There was some sort of vague hierarchy to the Nine Realms as to how high along the Tree the realm was placed. The topmost realms were typically Asgard, Vanaheim, and Alfheim. Beneath them, the order was conflicted more often, but tended to go something like Midgard, Jotunheim, Svartalheim, Muspelheim, then Niflheim. Helheim was almost always placed at the very bottom.

And that was it. There was little else that agreed between various sources, and it was beginning to fray Loki's nerves. In his search for some kind of concrete understanding, the younger prince went out onto the Bifrost and asked Heimdall what he could see about the World Tree.

"_What knowledge do you seek from me, Your Highness?" Heimdall intoned, eyes not even darting away from their vigil to look at the visitor to the Bifrost Observatory._

_Loki opened then shut his mouth, reminding himself that Heimdall was always all-seeing. It was something that he was going to need to always keep in mind when planning schemes. At least until he could find some way to cloud himself from that sight, which Loki thought might someday become unimaginably useful._

"_You see all that occurs in the whole of the Nine Realms. Is that not so, Gatekeeper?"_

"_It is so, Your Highness."_

"_What, then, can you see of the Tree on which they hang? Does that too fall under your watch?"_

_Heimdall stood silently, not moving or speaking for a long moment. Loki wondered if he should repeat his question._

"_Many of its branches and roots lay beyond my sight. Even if they were not, the World Tree is vast. I could not hope to comprehend all that occurs on it without the madness that so much knowledge could bring," he said, somewhat abruptly._

_Loki bit his lip, but nodded. "I understand. What _can_ you see of Yggdrasil, then?"_

"_I see where the realms hang from the branches, though their positions are constantly shifting. I see shadows of the monsters that gnaw eternally at the roots. I see the serpent that encircles the fruit that is Midgard, massive but bound to the seas that surround the realm. I see the noose where the All-Father once hung long ago in sacrifice. I see glimpses of leaves and blooms that grow and fade away as time passes. Beyond that, there is very little that passes through my vision."_

"_You see nothing else? Nothing that may live along the trunk of the Tree, nothing of the Norns who live at the roots, nothing of the wells that nourish it, where it grows from, what it grows into, nothing?" Loki asked indignantly, his voice steadily growing louder with each query._

"_I am sorry, my prince. The mysteries of Yggdrasil will not unravel themselves for you through my sight."_

Loki let out a low growl of frustration at the memory. If _Heimdall_ had so little information about Yggdrasil, how could _he_ have any hope of deciphering the mysteries of the World Tree? Could anyone?

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he exhaled, burying his fingers in his hair. He wasn't going to get much farther unless he cleared his mind. He listened.

The edge of Asgard where Loki now sat was mountainous, and the air was clear. The wind blew and nipped at him, but he had never much minded the cold. A small waterfall rushed and gurgled nearby and led into a river, where he could hear fish darting through the currents. Farther off, he could hear the braying of hardy, long-horned goats that lived along the mountainside along with the screech of falcons that flew overhead. When he listened more closely, he could hear the pitter patter of lizards running along the rocks and the faint noise of squirrels chattering at each other from afar.

_Squirrels?_

Loki blinked his eyes open. Did squirrels live up here on the mountain? He had never been in the habit of paying close attention to the wildlife, but from his numerous wanderings of the land around Asgard, squirrels were usually found in forested areas, weren't they?

He stood up, folding his notes away and tucking them into his clothes. He strained his ears listening and again managed to catch a snatch of squirrel chatter once more, coming from below him. On a whim, Loki decided to follow the noise. After all, he wasn't currently accomplishing much.

He slid down the rock face and landed neatly on a ledge below him before running lightly in the direction of the chatter. Years of Thor dragging him on hunts across the Nine Realms had greatly improved his stealth, and he could glide through all sorts of terrain without the slightest noise. Thor, meanwhile, still tended to barge through landscapes like some rogue animal, but he usually made up for that in strength.

The chattering grew louder. Loki slowed somewhat to keep quiet and better pinpoint the source of the noise. He crept around spiraling rock formations and mossy overgrowths, and to his surprise, it suddenly sounded as if the number of squirrels was increasing drastically the closer he got.

The rocks in this direction were becoming more slippery and treacherous, but Loki jumped, stepped, and climbed forward steadily, the chattering sounding as if it was getting closer and closer. Finally, when it sounded as if what had to be a small crowd of squirrels was just around the corner, Loki rounded the rock face and stopped at what had been the source of the noise.

There was nothing there.

Confused, he whipped his head around, searching. There were no animals around, and the chattering had completely vanished, not even leaving behind an echo bouncing through the wilderness.

Loki frowned. He hadn't imagined all that noise. It had been loud and familiar and he had definitely been following it for the last ten minutes or so. He searched the surrounding area for any sign of the telltale squirrels that he had gone searching for, but found nothing for his troubles.

Eventually, he turned back around and began heading back to the palace. He could explore the phenomenon more at a later time. For now, he would try to return to his investigation of the mysteries of the World Tree.

* * *

**Squirrels, huh? I wonder what that could be about…**

**So the original draft of this chapter went into way more detail about training with sai, but I eventually decided that I was basically just indulging myself and that it wasn't actually very interesting to read, so I scrapped it and tried to condense the important things into this new version. I imagine most of you are here more for the characters and less for the weapons training, anyway. I'm glad that I wrote it, though, because I ended up learning a decent amount about sai handling, which may or may not come in handy for writing future scenes.**

**Anyway, as always, thank you all for reading, following, and favoriting this story! I've noticed that the number of reviews has essentially completely dropped off, and it's made me a bit confused. I hate to be that guy who begs for people to review, but it really honestly helps me develop the story when you guys tell me your reactions to different things I put in, what you like and don't like, etc. I keep worrying that maybe the lack of reviews is due to my writing or plot just getting worse, except I seem to still be getting a steady amount of follows, so I guess I'm still doing something that you guys like? Except without reviews, I can't tell what that might be. So, please give me whatever feedback you can, because I promise, my main reason in writing and publishing this fic is to give you guys a good reading experience, and reviews really do help me do that. The next chapter is going to be a scene I've been excited about writing for a while, and I'll be super glad if you guys are excited to read it too. I've got just a little bit of time before my school year starts, and I hope I can get it out to you all before then, because updates will definitely be much slower once that kicks off. I hope you don't think I'm ungrateful, because I really am delighted that you all still read this stuff. Please remember that whatever happens, even the spike in the view count when I post a new chapter is really flattering to me, and it means so much that you guys might be at all emotionally invested in my story or characters. I hope to see you all with a new chapter soon!**


	11. Chapter 11

The chattering was far more widespread than he had first imagined.

Now that the incessant noise had been brought to his attention, Loki was beginning to notice that wherever the Bifrost took him, in just about every realm, there would be what seemed to be a vague humming at the edge of his attention. When he took the time to listen closer, he could just make out the same noise every time.

_Rata-tata-rata-tata-rata-tata…_

Sometimes, he would just take to ignoring it. Other times, he would try to find it. But whenever Loki went to search for it, he would either be unable to discern even the direction of the chatter, or the noise would stop suddenly before he was able to find the source. He hadn't yet managed to get as close to discovering the mystery as he had the first time he had heard the squirrels.

Somehow, the idea of telling anyone else about the chattering didn't quite appeal to Loki. On the very rare occasions that the thought occurred to him, an odd sort of compulsion would come over him telling him to keep it to himself. It would be a puzzle that only he knew about, and that he would get to solve with his own efforts.

So, he travelled. Again and again, Loki felt pulled back to the original cliff site where he first noticed the noise, but it seemed to have fallen defiantly silent. He wandered along waterfalls and riverbanks in Vanaheim, plains and meadows in Alfheim, rocky terrain in Svartalheim. Everywhere, the noise faded in and out of his attention completely independent of his own efforts. No spell he knew could successfully track or find the source of the noise and physically tracking the noise just sent him running in circles.

He refused to let his exasperation overpower his curiosity. Heimdall could tell a disappointed Thor why his little brother couldn't join him on his latest adventure; Loki's acquired knowledge of the realms was always invaluable when they met back up again, anyway.

He was currently hiding in a Midgardian forest. The locals had been friendly enough, even reverent when Loki had arrived with his gleaming armor and magic, but had become less pleased when he decided to test his latest manipulation spells of animate consciousness by switching the minds of the villagers and their livestock. He had intended the spell to be temporary, of course, but not quite as short-lived as it proved to be. Before Loki had the chance to leave among the pandemonium of animals panicking and flailing about with their new limbs and pigs and chickens angrily working to escape from their pens, everyone returned to the rightful bodies and had their sights set on the strange new god who had appeared the night before.

It had taken a lot of running and shapeshifting to throw the angry humans off his trail, but Loki finally lost them. He lay on the ground, panting from the exertion, but smiling gleefully to himself from the chaos and the adrenaline rush. He closed his eyes and sighed contentedly. Not perfectly executed, but prank well done.

_Rata-tata-rata-tata-rata-tata…_

Loki's eyes snapped open and darted around. There it was again. He slowly got to his feet, but didn't move from the spot, determined to find the horde of squirrels this time. Gently, he tapped both of his ears lightly, letting tiny tendrils of magic wind their way into his ear canal. Without warning, the volume of all the sounds around him jumped up. The chattering now sounded like a crowd, babbling incoherently but unceasingly around him.

He did his best to listen through the noise and strained his ears, listening until he found…there! There was the soft rustling of foliage ahead of him from small animals darting all around it. Loki jumped forwards and ran towards it.

It was like they could see him spring into action, because suddenly, the rustling sound exploded in his ears, and Loki knew that the squirrels had just taken off running.

He was going to need to draw less attention to himself. In a stroke of inspiration, he shapeshifted himself into the form of a gray, nondescript, average sized squirrel and kept chase. He was lighter now, and able to propel himself much farther with each push from his powerful legs. His surroundings were now much bigger, but they sped past him faster than they ever had before.

And suddenly he saw them. A mob of squirrels: in the trees, on the ground, quick as silver and skillfully using the wildlife around them to shield themselves from sight. They were red, brown, gray, and even some black, but they were all headed in the same general direction. Loki slipped into their midst, little heart pounding excitedly about finally learning the answer to this mystery.

The mob stopped. Loki almost tumbled head over heels, the change was so abrupt. The squirrels all gathered around a large stone with a flat front face, chattering uneasily amongst themselves. Loki shifted anxiously under the wave of nervous energy the little animals were giving off, despite not looking to be in a hurry to go anywhere else.

They waited. And without warning, the world swallowed them.

Just as suddenly, they were spat back out, but their surroundings had completely changed. It had been midafternoon, but now, all that Loki could see above and around him was the night sky, beautiful and starry. The hard, packed earth that had just been under their feet was now replaced with some kind of odd, pale gray stone that was rough and had large, jagged fissures running through it. The squirrels had all fallen silent and were now looking expectantly at a wall made of the same material not far from them. Loki looked at it too, noticing that it seemed to be very tall. He looked up and almost fell over from the shock.

It felt like looking at infinity. The wall stretched above him dizzyingly high, continuing up and up until it was completely out of Loki's range of sight, and yet he knew that it still stretched beyond even that. The inability to see where the wall ended hit him with a crippling sense of vertigo; he felt like if he continued to stare and try to comprehend the sight, he would go utterly, stark raving mad.

There was a scrabbling noise from around him, and Loki realized a moment too late that the squirrels around him had gone ahead, leaving him behind to gaze mindlessly upwards. Dozens of little heads swiveled to stare at him, and he heard a hiss from somewhere above him.

"_Trespasser…"_

For the first time in his life, Loki felt utterly out of his depth.

He jumped when the voice spoke again, now sounding closer. "I thought I warned you lot about keeping the little magician out of here." Seemingly out of nowhere, a huge, red squirrel jumped down into Loki's vision. It had a long bushy tail, flecked with gray and black. From what Loki could see, it looked like it had a pure white belly. Its claws were orange and sharp, and it was clinging upside down on the fissures in the wall. It was very reminiscent of the way regular squirrels would cling to a tree trunk.

Loki's eyes widened. _Like a tree…!_

He gave a quick scratch to the ground beneath him and saw in a flash of understanding that it _wasn't_ some kind of gray stone, it was wood, and not just wood, it was _bark,_ and oh _Norns,_ that meant that he must be on…

"Take that false skin off," growled a voice that was now very close, and Loki started when he looked up and realized that the giant squirrel was now crouched right in front of him. Its voice was very little like the chatter that had been haunting him for the past fortnight; it was growling and hissing that was much deeper than one would ever expect out of a rodent, and the noise didn't so much enter through his ears than echo directly into the recesses of his brain. "It doesn't suit you anyway."

Loki had never been much for following orders from strangers, but he felt like this situation might call for an exception. He shook the sense of squirreliness free from his mind, and felt the magic tugging on his body, making his limbs bigger and feeling more familiar. Now at his normal size, Loki could see that this squirrel was not as heartstoppingly huge as he first thought, though it was still about the size of a middling mountain cat.

The corner of the squirrel's mouth quirked into a smirk. "You are not as small as I thought you would be. But then, I suppose most gossip gets exaggerated in the telling."

The question burst from Loki without warning. "Am I on Yggdrasil?"

The squirrel snorted. "Impertinent. But perceptive." It began to circle Loki, who was still on his knees. "You are much as they say, trickster prince."

"But I am on Yggdrasil? We are sitting on the branches of Yggdrasil?" he pressed.

"You are on Yggdrasil, if the knowledge satisfies you," the squirrel said, coming to a halt in front of the prince. "You are taking the sight of the Tree well for a realm dweller."

Loki reminded himself not to get lost in the sight above him. He hardly dared to contemplate what looking down would look like. "No one has ever set their eyes here…" he murmured, awed. "It is truly astonishing."

The squirrel hissed again to get his attention, glaring at him. "And you, realmling, are not to be here. Your place is solely where the Gate Guardian can send you."

Loki was startled, but met the gaze defiantly. "And who are you to refuse me?" he shot back.

The squirrel let out a snarl, baring its long, sharp teeth, and he shrank back almost instinctively. "You dare speak to me in such a way? I have more knowledge of the universe than you shall ever possess, little trickster," it said. It leaned towards Loki, its eyes narrowed menacingly. "Believe me when I say I know stories and truths about you and your family that could make your blood curdle in your veins."

Loki flushed in sudden rage. "You dare speak so dishonorably of the house of Odin?" he replied angrily.

"Oh, I dare," it responded, eyes gleaming coldly. "I answer to no one in all the Nine Realms, and I speak as I please."

"There is no such creature in all the Realms," Loki declared.

The squirrel pulled itself up onto its hind legs, tail twitching behind it. "Then it is fortunate that I am not of the Realms. I am Ratatosk, traveler of the Tree," the creature stated haughtily. "These little ones are my messengers, telling me of events that occur in the Nine Realms."

"A gossip," Loki pronounced, smirking.

Ratatosk hissed at Loki menacingly. "I have sometimes been titled so, but only for the wealth of knowledge I can glean about any realm dweller I please."

"Oh?" The first hints of a scheme began swirling around Loki's head. "Do you think so? Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I've never seen one of your little messengers scuttling around the palace of Asgard."

The crowd of squirrels behind him began to babble in indignation. "They hide among the grounds and the gardens," Ratatosk growled. "We know much of what happens among the high Asgardians."

"How much, hm?" Loki suggested tauntingly. "Do you hear of the schemes of Odin and of court intrigue? Have any of your little ones seen the splendor of Asgard's throne room with their own eyes? The Asgardian noblewomen are the most precious jewels of the royal court, and they shine the most beautifully in their place within the palace. The Lady Sif ventures ever outwards, but what can you see of our beloved queen Frigga? The wall ringing Asgard sprang from the Lady Freya's beauty. And what of Lady Sigyn, Lady Nanna, Lady Idunn?"

"Do you try to weave one of your spells of words on me, Silvertongue?" Ratatosk sneered, but the edge to his hostility had gone.

"Why ask? Do you feel the pull of their truth?" Loki asked, grinning cheekily. He leaned forwards, as if to tell a secret, and began to whisper enticingly. "Oh, venerable Traveler of the Tree, the tales I could tell you. A royal prince and a skilled sorcerer? I can enter places your underlings could only dream of in their wildest fantasies. What do you wish to hear of? The knowledge and artifacts to be found in Odin's own private study? The treasures locked away in the weapons vault? Ask yourself, and then really, truly consider to yourself whether you want to ban me from this place forevermore."

He broke off when he started to feel his heartbeat in his ears. His nerves were all humming, roiling emotions pulling all of his muscles taut. Loki didn't have the faintest idea of the powers that Ratatosk might possess and of his own right to be here in the first place. The thought was frightening, but the feeling only fueled his excitement of trying this ploy. _If this succeeds…the knowledge I could gather from being on the Tree itself! Could I travel along it? Could I get to the bottom and see the beast chewing at the roots? Could I meet the Norns themselves? Could I…?_ The prospect was intoxicating, more than the finest mead that the royal dining halls could ever offer.

Loki forced himself to calm down. His skill at wordcrafting was going to be diminished if he let his emotional investment in this get the better of him.

Ratatosk had fallen silent. It was staring at Loki very intently, tail very slowly swaying behind him. "You offer much, trickster prince," it finally replied. "What guarantee would I have that you would ever pay up?"

"Why, none at all," Loki responded flippantly. "I haven't promised you anything, Traveler. I tell you only of the kind of knowledge I have and can gain. I only hope you consider them worth knowing yourself, so that you might allow me entry onto the Tree once more."

They continued to stare at each other, each trying to leverage each other solely with their gazes. Then suddenly, Ratatosk turned its back, went to the little horde of squirrels, and began to rapidly chatter at them. The sound echoed painfully in Loki's ears, feeling like a little drill whining at the back of his skull, but he kept the discomfort from his expression.

Ratatosk finished chattering, and the squirrels scattered everywhere along the wall, up and down and across until they had all disappeared from Loki's sight. The large squirrel turned around, sauntering back towards the prince, letting out what sounded remarkably like a sigh.

"So, what was so interesting that I don't get to listen in as well?" Loki inquired casually, taking care to sound as if the matter only just barely piqued his curiosity.

Before he could even blink, Ratatosk's tail was wrapped securely around Loki's neck. It felt like a warm, furry shackle, pressed hard enough to just cause discomfort. The fur tickled at his lower jaw.

"They will spread the word," Ratatosk growled, "among the beasts and creatures to be found among all the Nine Realms: Trickster Prince Loki is to be allowed on the Tree. If he should abuse this privilege, he shall meet the wrath of Ratatosk."

Loki's eyes widened, and he let out a nervous chuckle. "Ehehe…I thank you for your generous offer, good Ratatosk," he said, not quite able to keep the tremble out of his voice. "I am eternally grateful that you should have gifted me with your permission to traverse Yggdrasil."

"Cease your pretty words. They are empty," it snapped, loosening its tail's hold over Loki's neck. "I shall collect my payment from you when we cross paths again, and you come to me as another of my messengers." The tail wrapped around his arm and swiveled him around. "Now come," it said, bounding towards the mob of squirrels' entryway in, which had transformed from a flat face of rock to an odd sort of shimmering membrane wall. "Come learn how to step on to the Tree."

Ratatosk uncurled a claw and gently ran it along the edge of the undulating wall. Loki stared, fascinated. "All of the realm-fruit are imperfect. There are cracks to be found in each of them, but they are small." One of the talons caught, and Ratatosk very gently dragged it, and a swimming view of trees could be seen in the resulting opening in the membrane. It let go, and the wall snapped shut again.

"The cracks are almost always to be found in nature. Structures made by the ruling realmlings usually obscure them," the squirrel explained. "You will learn their locations as time breeds your familiarity with the Tree." It stepped back. "Now open the crack yourself."

Loki stepped forward and cautiously pressed his palm to the wall. It felt like cool water, but his hand remained dry while touching it. Carefully, he ran his fingers along it, unsure of what he would find.

And then he felt it. It was like the faintest sensation of brushing an edge of a thin page of a book tingling along the tip of his middle finger. Loki curled his fingernail around it and pulled.

He was suddenly jerked forward into the scene before him. Behind him, Loki heard a little chatter of mirth. "We will meet again soon, little trickster. May you be more graceful in your future travels."

* * *

Loki stepped back onto the Bifrost site on Midgard, his mind awash with the knowledge and memories of the last hour. Now that he could get onto Yggdrasil, he could hardly comprehend the possibilities that could be open to him now. The things he could learn, the places he could travel; Loki wasn't even sure where to begin.

The familiar spinning pull of the Bifrost hardly interrupted his thoughts, and as the golden observatory materialized around him, Loki gave a quick nod and acknowledgement of thanks to Heimdall before heading for the door, eager to begin his search for other cracks in the universe.

"Hold, Loki," Heimdall interrupted, and Loki came to a halt, heart suddenly pounding. _Heimdall. Of course._ He had forgotten about him, Heimdall had surely seen his romp onto the World Tree, how could he have thought he would be able to keep this hidden? Heimdall would surely tell Odin and this discovery might just change all Asgardian technology and future method of attack, Ratatosk had _just_ warned him not to abuse this privilege, how was Loki ever going to–

"I seem to have lost sight of you for a period of time in your travels at Midgard." Heimdall turned to fix his golden eyes directly at the prince, and Loki could almost feel his very thoughts being seen and examined. "Can you tell me how this can be?"

Loki blinked and exhaled slowly. Heimdall hadn't been able to see him while he was on the Tree? That could prove to be…interesting. He didn't get much opportunity to lie to the All-Seeing Gatekeeper, after all. "Why, I cannot imagine that your Sight has waned, good Heimdall," he said aloud, quickly slipping back into a calm visage. "Perhaps, with so much to see at once, you simply lost track of me and could not easily spot me again once I had entered my shifted state."

They gazed at each other in silence for a few anxious seconds. "Perhaps," Heimdall finally admitted. "I shall endeavor to watch you more closely on your travels in the future."

"I thank you for your vigilance," Loki replied, flashing a confident smile before striding out of the observatory. Once on the rainbow bridge, he surreptitiously breathed out a quick sigh of relief before running forward. Heimdall was going to keep a closer eye on him, eh? Well, that would mean little while he was on Yggdrasil, but it he was going to need to study his illusions far more deeply if he was going to doubly fool Heimdall: one, to keep him from being seen when he stepped off the Tree to another realm, and two, to make others think he was still where they expected him to be.

Loki could hardly keep the grin off his face. This would be his grandest scheme yet.

* * *

**Phew! That sure took long enough, didn't it? Looks like Loki's just got a whole new world of mischief opened up to him…**

**My apologies for being so late in this chapter; school just came and hit me like a brick wall, knocking me over from my keyboard and then repeatedly wailing on me to keep me from getting back. I'm sorry to say future updates are likely to take around this long in the future, if not longer. So no more updates every couple of weeks, but not to fear! I definitely want to keep writing this, as I've become attached to our lovely couple here. I've got ideas of who I want them to meet and what their lives will be like all the way up to the events of Thor. Next chapter, I think we might get to see Sigyn again, so yay! I wonder what she's been up to while Loki's been running all around the Nine Realms?**

**As always, thank you thank you thank you for taking the time to read this fic, as well as favoriting and following it! And an extra special thank you to all you extra lovely folks who review and take the time to tell me what you like or dislike about my story! It seriously helps me and my writing so much to know what things you guys think of it and where you want/hope it will go. It makes me happy inside whenever I see a notification in my inbox about this fic, so thank you to you all! I really hope you like this chapter, because I've had this scene in my head for Loki for a while now, so please tell me what you think of it! I encourage any and all feedback, tips, or criticisms that any of you might have for me, and I hope to see you all soon!**


	12. Chapter 12

"Again," Loki rasped, bent over and panting but still determinedly glaring at Thor.

Thor, idly turning Mjolnir, frowned at the request. "Brother, your magic drains you. I do not think–"

"I've nearly perfected it! You were fooled, just for a moment, I know it!" Loki snapped, straightening himself and slipping back into a battle stance. His limbs creaked in protest at the prospect of repeating the exercise. He pointedly ignored them. "Thrice more, Thor. If I cannot slip your gaze in three attempts, then we may conclude for the day," he finally conceded.

Thor sighed. "Agreed. But if you try to convince me to extend this session again, I will drag you to your chambers myself, wards be damned."

"How ambitious of you," Loki quipped, and prepared himself for an incoming attack. The two had been at the training grounds all afternoon now at Loki's request, working on a new battle technique that he had devised and wanted to perfect. He had long been able to produce false images of himself, lasting long periods of time and distances far from him, capable of speaking and acting perfectly, though not solid. They were all good and mischievous fun, but as long as someone saw where he was standing prior to the creation of the duplicate, they would very easily know which was real and which false. But if Loki found a way to make the switch between himself and the image while someone was watching, particularly in the midst of battle, fooling and ambushing them would be child's play. A sort of sleight of hand, as it were, but with his whole form. And if it might also double as a technique that could help him escape Heimdall's notice when he wanted to climb onto Yggdrasil, well, no one really _had_ to know, did they?

"Begin!" Thor shouted and charged Loki, hammer held aloft. Loki ducked and swept behind him, but Thor quickly stopped and pivoted, swinging Mjolnir through the air and forcing Loki to roll and jump away. He threw three knives then made the duplicate as Thor was forced to knock the blades from the air. The image ran straight at Thor while Loki swiftly made his way around him, having cloaked himself. Thor braced himself for impact, but the image jumped up and made to kick him in the chest instead. Loki provided the hardened air to mimic the blow with his magic as the duplicate flipped back and landed on his feet. Thor, however, turned his back and pounded Mjolnir into the ground, catching the real Loki off-balance and knocking him to the ground with a thud.

"The switch has been made. My round," Thor said as Loki came back into view, picking himself off the ground with a pained groan.

After his first visit to the World Tree, Loki found that he could now track the sounds of squirrels he heard much more successfully, and had managed to find a couple of cracks by following them. But until he perfected plans and techniques for preventing other from noticing his absence, he couldn't enter them and begin exploring as he wished. Heimdall would be watching him less closely while he was still on Asgard, but Loki knew he only had to be spotted once. So, no point in taking any chances; best that he learned how to make a flawless switch with his doubles now to prevent any trouble in the future. He could easily make excuses so that the doubles didn't have to touch anyone. It meant that he wouldn't get to exit the Tree anywhere that the duplicate couldn't easily get without being discovered, but Yggdrasil itself would be plenty to sate his curiosity for now. Loki might very well learn the trick to evading Heimdall's gaze in the Realms there anyway.

Loki stretched his limbs as he straightened back up. Taking a deep breath, he returned to a ready stance. "Second round," he pronounced clearly, despite the fatigue starting to dig at him.

"Begin," Thor repeated with a nod, then promptly threw Mjolnir straight at Loki.

He sidestepped it and began running in a clockwise semicircle around Thor before the hammer's master summoned it back to his hand. Loki threw blades as he circled that had Thor dodging and knocking them away. He closed in and swept a leg at the back of Thor's knees to knock him over. Thor turned and swung at Loki as he fell, who leaned back at the blow. When Thor hit the ground, Loki made the double once more as he cloaked himself and quickly rolled out of the way. Thor didn't hesitate for a moment, though, and hit the ground again. It was dangerously close to Loki this time, whose focus was disrupted. The image flickered away and Loki came back into view.

"The switch was made. My round once more."

Thor turned out to be quite adept at catching Loki's first attempts at a double switch. Again and again, as Loki darted around, the older prince managed to knock him off his feet with a blow from Mjolnir, successfully identifying the false image each time. It was frustrating, but Loki was grateful. If Thor could see through it, then Heimdall definitely could, and he needed to get as good as possible.

"Last chance, Loki," Thor warned, "Then we are finished for the day."

Loki gave a smirk through his panting that looked more confident than he felt. "Don't let down your guard just yet, then, brother," he said teasingly. He took one more deep breath and let it out, concentrating. "Last round," he announced, meeting Thor's eyes and nodding.

"Begin!" they both shouted. This time, Loki made the first move, throwing three knives at Thor and charging right behind them. Thor knocked the blades away easily with Mjolnir only for Loki's fist to follow it, headed straight for his neck. Thor leaned back to avoid the punch and Loki crashed his elbow down right into Thor's sternum, driving him to his knees. He jumped back at Thor's retaliatory swing, then ducked in surprise at a flying Mjolnir about to hit his face.

Thor gave a roar of frustration as he pulled himself to his feet and ran at Loki, a fist raised. Suddenly, Loki was on the defensive again, blocking, then sidestepping and dodging as he read Thor's body movements better and better. Loki rolled backwards at a sweeping kick aimed for his side. When he straightened, he saw Thor unmoving, but with his arm outstretched. Loki whirled around, eyes widening when he saw Mjolnir being summoned and headed straight for him. He took an involuntary step back, looking momentarily frightened…and to Thor's utter astonishment, Mjolnir passed straight through Loki's torso and instead hit Thor in the chest.

The now frozen image of Loki flickered away. The real Loki uncloaked himself, crouched on the ground several feet away with a delighted grin on his face.

"You missed the switch. My round," he said, falling back into a sitting position, breathing heavily in exhaustion, but still laughing.

* * *

"My lady?"

Sigyn blinked and snapped out of her reverie. She had been periodically staring in the direction of the echoing shouts and sounds of blows for the hour or so that she had been in the training grounds that day. Beren had apparently taken notice and finally decided to comment on it.

"My apologies," she said, bowing her head and raising her sai in a defensive stance. He looked concerned, but didn't say anything else, spinning the staff in his hands back to a ready position.

Sigyn had finally gotten to the point where she could start using the defensive forms she learned to block larger, stronger weapons. She had been worried that she would start out failing miserably at this and embarrassing herself, but Beren was kind enough to take it easy, keeping his blows gentle and easily telegraphing his moves for her. She still failed on a regular basis, of course. Active physical exertion had never been her forte.

So she kept training with Beren, determined to come out of it at least somewhat proficient. She concentrated on matching the right sai movement with Beren's staff attacks, which gave her the excuse to not let her mind wander. Particularly not to the source of a certain familiar voice floating into her ears.

That particular non-thought gave rise to a pinprick of ire, and Sigyn pursed her lips. Her vision grew clearer, her movements became crisper, and all at once, she brought both sai up to the falling staff and twisted the weapon clean out of Beren's hands.

His eyes widened. "Oh, good work, my lady!" he said, smiling delightedly. "You caught me off guard, looks like…" He bent down to pick up the staff, looking a bit embarrassed.

Sigyn stared at the sai on her arms, feeling astonished at her sudden success.

Beren's voice cut through her mystification. "Well, I think that's that done for the day, my lady. It was a good session." She glanced up to see Beren placing the staff back on one of the nearby weapon racks. "I'll have to pay more attention next time, I suppose," he called back to her, giving her a shy smile.

As she banished the sai back into her dimensional pocket, Sigyn heard a tired, but happy and familiar laugh from that same source in the grounds. She vaguely wondered who was making him laugh, and the thought sent a sudden, unexpectedly painful compression in her chest. Sigyn didn't understand where it came from.

An odd compulsion came over her, and she snapped her head back up. "I don't believe I've kept up my side of this transaction yet. Would you like to see some magic?" Sigyn asked, setting her chin forward firmly.

Beren blinked, surprised, and his face went red again. "Oh, no, lady, I didn't mind just training you, it was no trouble at all, really, you don't have to perform anything if it troubles you–"

And it was like Loki had swooped down right next to her shoulder and his silvered voice was whispering in her ear, just as honeyed and charming and persuasive as the real thing several yards away, which hadn't spoken more than a few distracted words to her in weeks. And it was telling her the next words she should say, how she should clasp her hands and press her arms into her torso to make her look more demure and sympathetic, how she should lower her eyelids and very slightly stick her lower lip out just so to seem just a bit upset and vulnerable, because _just look at this boy, he gets flustered so very easily at your every action, why not have a little fun, hm? Now just turn yourself ever so slightly and refuse to meet his eye and give off the barest hint of hurt and say –_

"Oh, I see," Sigyn said, casting her eyes down, "it was just…you seemed so interested before, and so few are, so I just thought…well, it was rather foolish, I suppose…"

"Oh, no no no no no no no, that wasn't at all what I mean, my lady, no, of course not, please, I'm very sorry," Beren babbled out, looking utterly horrified that he had apparently just made Sigyn the slightest bit unhappy. "No, my lady, please, I am interested, I really am, I'd love to see anything you could do, honest, I'm so sorry…" He trailed off, looking paler and more frightened than Sigyn had ever seen him.

"…You want to see my magic? Truly?" she asked, raising her eyes and pitching her voice with just the amount of uncertainty and hope that the imaginary Loki murmured to her.

"Yes, absolutely," Beren answered earnestly, nodding furiously and looking at her with such fervor that Sigyn almost started. "I would be honored to see your magic, my lady. I mean it."

"I…yes. All right then," Sigyn replied, feeling oddly thrown by how easily directed Beren had been. And also, how…_exhilarating_. It was such a flooding feeling of _power_, that she could so heavily influence someone's actions and emotions with just a few words and a vaguely sad look. The sensation was so unexpected that she barely knew how to deal with it.

_Careful_, a rational voice at the back of her mind cautioned. _You're coming dangerously close to the manipulative women of the royal court, who scheme and seduce to get their way. You've looked at them in disdain for centuries now; surely you don't want to sink to their level._

_Come now,_ chided Loki's voice, _it's _fun. _And why do you think those women act as they do? To get their way however they can. A few well placed words, and you can have people eating from the palm of your hand. How do you think I came to be known as the Wordsmith, hm?_

Sigyn shook off the thoughts. Dwelling too long on the silvery voice was giving her an odd feeling in her chest, anyway, and she had promised a demonstration for Beren, so a demonstration he would get.

"Sit in front of me, then," she instructed, striding to a patch of ground that was not packed and tamped down for training, folding her legs under her and sitting on a patch of grass. She swept her eyes around her, noting a sparse number of pebbles and weeds in the vicinity. A few yards away, Beren sat cross-legged, looking up, nervous and excited.

"Do you like birds, Beren Bëorson?" Sigyn asked, picking up a small stone and rolling it in her fingers.

Beren blinked. "I…suppose so?" he answered, looking unsure.

Sigyn glanced up, then back down at her hand, where she was now holding the stone flat on her palm. "Well, I hope you don't dislike them, at least," she quipped, and twisted her hand abruptly. Space pushed out and became a little duller, and now perched on her hand, where there had once been a pebble, was now a little sparrow peering around inquisitively. Sigyn gave it a little push and it flitted across the space between the two onto one of Beren's arms.

He stared at it wonderingly. It chirped at him.

He looked back up at Sigyn, who had now placed a fingertip to the ground. From it, a trail was drawing itself out on the ground, made of some hidden green light, and it was starting to wind its way in a circle around him. And right in front of his eyes, the most beautiful and exquisite flowers were growing and blooming, tendrils of green curling out from earth that was cracking open very slightly, slim and elegant leaves unfurling from the stems, buds pushing out into existence and twirling themselves open within the span of a few seconds to reveal reserves of vibrant color in the throats of long, delicate petals, looking creamy and whisper-soft, inviting him to reach out and touch them.

Beren raised a trembling hand towards a lovely yellow and orange lily, but stopped himself and looked at Sigyn inquiringly.

A small smile played at the corner of her lips. "Well, they usually attack the innocent, but I think they'll treat you politely," she said lightly. "I asked them nicely."

Beren gave a little chuckle more out of nervousness than anything else, but placed his index finger on the tip of a petal. It felt like silk and water, and he shakily exhaled a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

"Norns," he whispered reverentially, "they're _beautiful_."

Sigyn blinked, taken aback by how heartfelt his compliment was. She looked down at her work. She'd always had somewhat of a talent for plants, while Loki had always been much more interested in animals and creatures, shape shifting into them whenever he was bored or felt like playing a prank. He had never put her down or belittled her in any way for the difference in specialty, of course; it was useful to have a partner with different skill sets than you, and it was in no way less useful than others. But all the same, she was unused to such wonder at what she did.

She looked back up, and the two of them made eye contact. Beren looked back at her with such genuine awe and amazement that she couldn't help but smile delightedly. "Thank you," she replied, almost shyly.

He beamed back at her then looked back down at the flowers. "May I take some with me, my lady? If it's not improper, or some such thing," he added hastily.

Sigyn's smile faded. "Oh, they won't last long, I'm afraid," she said, sinking back into her usual calm, less emotional self. "Life created by magic tends to be exceptionally temporary unless some other life is given at its expense."

Beren's grin faltered. "Oh? So then these flowers…and the bird…" he said quietly, casting a glance to the bird now pecking at the ground a few feet away. It looked fine now…

"Will fade away soon, yes," Sigyn completed, nodding. "Magic itself both exists as energy and a mechanism for energy conversion. I can pour in some of my own energy in it to bring it forth, and from there it can sustain itself for a limited time, but unless there is some steady supply into the beings from a preestablished biological source, the magic that brought them there depletes itself and life extinguishes. Essentially, living organisms of entirely magical origin possess no ontological inertia."

Beren stared at her, confused and a little overwhelmed.

She blinked, realizing her mistake. "My apologies. I use a lot of technical terminology when talking about magic…"

"No, I think I understand, my lady," Beren said, nodding and looking back at the bird. "At least a little. Magic can't make things live forever."

Sigyn hid a noise of amusement, but allowed herself a small smile. "That's a good way of putting it, I think," she conceded. She stood, brushing dirt and dust from her clothes, and bowed her head to him. "Thank you for the lesson."

Beren laughed. "No, my lady," he said, shaking his head, "thank _you_ for your magic. It's truly something. And – and if you want to show me any more of it, it would be my honor to see it," he added earnestly.

Sigyn favored him with one last small smile before taking her leave. Beren's enthusiasm had invigorated her; her mind's eye flashed back to her efforts in magical amplification before Odin had nudged her towards his web of schemes. She decided to start researching and investigating again.

_And then_, she promised herself, _I'll show Loki. Perhaps we will be on equal ground once more, and he will see fit to seek my company again._

* * *

**Ehehe…three months, eh? Time flies, doesn't it? *cough***

**Uh, yes. Anyway. A thousand apologies for taking so long to update, and not even with a super long chapter to make up for it. College is really putting me through the wringer. But it's winter now, which means almost a month without school, which means hopefully, I'll get to write more before I'm back to work. My goal is churning out another two chapters; if I can't put out at least one, I will be extremely cross with myself indeed.**

**I think this chapter ended up being sort of like filler, but if everything goes according to plan, things should get a lot more interesting next chapter. There are shenanigans on Yggdrasil to be had!**

**Please tell me your thoughts on this newest installment! I've been worrying that with so much time between writing chapters, I may not have given everyone natural and interesting character growth, so please tell me what you think. And lastly, thank you thank you thank you to everyone who has decided to keep reading this fic, especially you lovely folk who joined in the last couple of months, favoriting and following during this little hiatus of mine. It makes my day whenever I get those notifications in my inbox. Please review with any feedback, tips, or criticisms you may have for me, and I hope to see you all with a new chapter in the quite near future!**


	13. Chapter 13

Loki had conjured a wide, full-length mirror in his chambers, and was currently examining his reflected image carefully. He twirled his fingers very precisely, and little green balls of fire appeared at his fingertips and flew away, zooming around the room excitedly. Right now, the Loki in the mirror followed his motions exactly. Good.

He took a long breath, exhaling slowly. Then, maintaining eye contact with the mirror-Loki, still forming fireballs and sending them around the room, he stepped forward at the precise moment he turned himself invisible and conjured an exact image of himself in his former place. The image continued to spin its fingers in the exact manner that Loki himself had just been, and fireballs still flew from its hand.

The real Loki had kept his eyes on the mirror. There hadn't been a single blip in the mirror image during the exchange. Mirror-Loki now copied the motions of the false image. Loki smiled, and the double stilled his hands, ceasing the production of fire. There were now at least a dozen little balls hovering and shooting around the room.

Still invisible, Loki raised a hand, and the double followed his lead. The fireballs went still, quivering in place. With a flick of the wrist, they descended and started moving specifically around the Lokis.

Loki began to dodge and sidestep the flying fireballs, making his double do the same. They shouldn't hit his double, as the fire would just phase through the image and give away the illusion, and they shouldn't hit his real, invisible body, as something would be colliding with what should give the impression of empty air. He kept his eyes on the mirror, tracking the motion of what could be seen.

He continued to duck and spin, dodging left and right as he got closer and closer to the Loki image doing the same. _Almost there_, he thought, the distance rapidly closing between the two. At the crucial moment, Loki pivoted on his heel and took the image's precise position in space, removing his invisibility and banishing the illusion at the exact same moment in time, all while staring into the mirror.

There hadn't been a single flaw in the switch. A perfectly smooth transition had occurred, with the reflection in the mirror showing only Loki creating, dodging, and now stopping a herd of fireballs in the privacy of his own room.

Loki smiled and snapped his fingers, banishing the fireballs into smoke. It looked as if he was ready to make his return to the Tree. There was just one last matter to take care of.

* * *

Sigyn sat alone on an armchair in a tucked away alcove of the royal library, a little pile of books neatly arranged on the desk next to her. She had been keeping herself busy in the last few weeks: keeping up her practice with her sai and continuing her research into magical amplification. Her sai skill level was certainly not that of a warrior's, but she persisted, knowing that what she could not accomplish with talent would have to be made up with long, monotonous work.

Meanwhile, the wooden spheres she had been tinkering with for magical use proved more promising than her physical prowess. She had been excited to discover that the energy output of their burning was quite substantial; so substantial, in fact, that her first attempt to tap into it led to her almost burning her hand off. Sigyn had tried to pick woods with a high heat output when burned, but it was extremely disorganized energy that was created in heat and light, and providing a conduit into a form that one could access and control had been more complex than she had anticipated. But no matter, that just mean more precision needed to be applied on her end as well as adding sigils and runes that directed the flow of energy into something more stable. Sigyn was certain that she could do it, and its accomplishment would mean a breakthrough in magical practice. So she kept at it diligently both for her own future usage and the sense of academic achievement, and not, as she would periodically remind herself, to distract her from the completely inconspicuous absence of Loki for what amounted to almost two months now. She'd show him her results when she was done, and he could continue doing whatever mysterious thing he was doing in which she was totally uninterested in the meantime.

As fun as that could be, it was not actually what she was in the library to do. Sigyn was here to look up whatever information she could find about jötunn culture. It had been foolish of her to take her focus away from the All-Father's questions for even a few weeks, and she was determined that whatever Odin had in store for her, she wasn't going to be caught completely off guard and defenseless. At the very least, she would know _something_ about whatever matter he had been hinting at.

The library, to its credit, certainly had a decent amount of literature on the Frost Giants for Sigyn to peruse. To her disappointment, though, that literature had a tendency to almost exclusively contain–

_Ugh, more war campaigns?_ Sigyn thought, disgruntled. She resisted the urge to throw the book against a shelf and instead set it down, picking up yet another book from the little pile beside her, hoping its contents might this time be a little bit different. It felt like just about everything she could scrape up focused on the battles and glorious Asgardian war heroes that had fought valiantly against Frost Giant after Frost Giant. Ballads, epics, war strategies, rank and status catalogues, it all came back down to fighting.

_Perhaps it is out of necessity. Asgardians are always told about the aggressive and dangerous nature of Jötunheim and its Frost Giants. Is this the only way that Asgardians _could_ interact with them?_ Sigyn wondered. She cracked open another book and grew interested to see that this one looked like it would go more in depth into jötunn culture. Enthused, she opened it up and began reading more.

"Hard at work?" said a familiar, amused voice.

Sigyn's head snapped up. Loki was leaning effortlessly against a bookshelf, a wide smirk stretched across his face.

She stared back. She gave herself a mental nudge to open her mouth and actually say something, but it seemed that she hadn't been quite prepared to speak to him after so long. Eventually, though, her mind ground back into gear and Sigyn cleared her throat, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "What brings you here?" she finally managed to ask.

Loki straightened and sauntered over to her, giving her an earnest look, though his smile hadn't left. "Come now, what sort of greeting is that?" he asked teasingly. He stopped next to her chair, tugged the book out of her hands, and offered her an outstretched hand of his own. "We haven't had the opportunity to speak properly in ages, and I've so missed your company."

She took his hand and Loki pulled her up, and to her complete surprise, continued pulling her straight into his arms and pressed his lips to hers in a kiss. Sigyn brought her hand up to the back of his head and pressed herself against his chest in response, moving her mouth against his.

They broke apart and Loki murmured something and made a gesture with his hand, which Sigyn recognized as a sound-silencing spell. No one outside the circle Loki chose would hear them inside, and vice versa. She looked at him quizzically and he smiled charmingly in return, then began leaving featherlike kisses on her neck, quickly moving up to her jaw. When he reached her ear, she could feel his nose brushing against her hair, and he whispered to her, "Be careful and play along. Heimdall is watching."

Sigyn pulled her head back so she could see Loki's face. He pressed his forehead back against hers, his mouth barely grazing her bottom lip, but he looked straight back into her eyes and gave her a meaningful gaze. _This is important_, he seemed to be saying. _Please listen to me_.

Sigyn almost wanted to stop him right there and demand to understand, demand to ask him what was going on and not step around and avoid her for weeks, demand to not stop ignoring her with no explanation and suddenly spring _this_ on her. But she didn't, because Loki had asked her to play along and looked as if he was depending on her to follow his instructions, and Sigyn was rapidly finding that when Loki asked something of her, she would do so immediately.

She gave a little sigh, but a small smile curled at the corners of her mouth and she kissed him in assent. She felt him grin against her mouth as he returned the sentiment with enthusiasm, feeling his tongue dart across her lower lip. _Silvertongue_, a voice in the back of her head whispered distantly, and she suddenly found herself with her back against a bookshelf.

Loki broke away from her again and planted a soft kiss against her cheekbone, then moved back to her ear and very gently sucked on her earlobe. Sigyn exhaled audibly and brought both her hands to Loki's head and back, pushing him towards her, telling herself that he could speak to her more easily in this position. He opened his mouth again and began to whisper quickly, though his hands continued their exploration of her body.

"You've become very familiar with my illusion magic over the years, so I don't doubt you could tell me from a double of mine in a heartbeat," he murmured, pressing another kiss behind her ear. "I suspect from now on, you'll often be seeing images of me going about my business in the palace instead of my true self. I'd be delighted if you could treat and speak to these doubles the way that you do me, and not reveal their true nature to anyone else."

Sigyn buried her head in the hollow of his neck and whispered back to him, "A scheme so extensive, you'll hide it from Heimdall? I wonder just how deeply you've buried yourself."

She couldn't see his face any more, but he suddenly lifted her and seated her on one of the shelves protruding out and hooked one of her legs around his hip, pressing her body into his. "Come now, don't be like that," he hummed into her skin, using that charming, wheedling tone he did for that extra persuasive push. "Heimdall only ruins fun, and he disapproves unceasingly of my antics." He swiped his tongue against the underside of her jawbone. "Now when he looks on me, he doesn't see a plotting Loki; just two young lovers whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears."

Sigyn pushed Loki's head back and rested her forehead against his once more, looking straight at him. His eyes, usually a bright and piercing green, looked dark, his pupils wide. "Lovers, then? Is that what we are?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.

He stole a quick kiss from her. "Aren't we?" he replied, grinning impishly. He pushed back the hair against her temples, his palms against her cheekbones. "Two young Asgardians engaged to be wed, of the age where we would be taking interest in such…" he trailed, brushing his fingers gently down her collarbone and over the clothed curve over her breast, "…activities?"

Sigyn noted that Loki was no longer making the effort to hide his words. This kind of talk, she supposed, was acceptable for Heimdall to see them say. She sighed through her nose, then clasped one hand over the fingers trailing over her body, stilling their movement. She used the other grab hold of Loki's tunic and pull him close to her, his ear against her lips.

"I'll do as you ask," she murmured, "but you should know that I'll be curious as to where you've gone."

Loki tilted his head and pressed his lips to her cheek. "Well then," he whispered, "I suppose that will be a risk that I'll have to take." He gave her one last long, sweet kiss, then pulled away. With a twist of his wrist, he called off the silencing spell and said, "I'll leave you to your studies, then. But we really should speak more often, don't you think?" With one last cheeky smile, he turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Sigyn feeling somewhat bewildered with the whole encounter. She straightened out her clothing and looked back at her book, which had been abandoned on a nearby side table.

She sighed, suspecting that she wasn't going to be able to concentrate on her research for a while longer. Was he always going to do this? Keep kissing her and giving her physical affection then leave her to puzzle out meanings and motives when he was done? Whatever the answer was, Sigyn had a feeling that she would go along with it anyway. In the end, she could really never say no to Loki.

* * *

Sif, of course, had been absolutely delighted when she had heard about Sigyn finally taking an interest in any kind of combat at all. Despite her initial discomfort with the training grounds' unfamiliarity, Sigyn had put off telling Sif about her weapons training for a while, knowing that it would probably mean that Sif would come barging into her training sessions and leave her bruised and battered by the end of it.

But when it came to training, Sif could only be kept in the dark for so long. So even when Sigyn had requested to Beren not to let anyone else that didn't need to know about her sai lessons, she really couldn't consider herself too surprised when one day Beren had come to their usual meeting place with an apologetic look and Sif following behind, a gleam of triumph in her eye.

"Sorry, my lady," he had mumbled, "but she was very persistent."

Sigyn had reassured him that she had understood and bore him no ill will and spent the rest of the session doing her best to convince Sif that really, she _wasn't_ skilled enough yet to take her on, she promised, a spar was going to end disastrously for her, Sif, she _meant_ it. In the end, Sif had relented but promised to check up on her progress regularly, leaving Sigyn with a sense of foreboding that she suspected was not unwarranted.

After making her escape from the library, Sigyn ran down to the training grounds, hoping that even if it wasn't necessarily the appointed time to continue lessons, she might be able to at least practice attack forms on a dummy to distract herself. Instead, she found Sif and Beren in their usual spot sparring with weapons: Beren using a pair of sai and Sif armed with her usual double-bladed longstaff.

It was almost like a dance. Sif whirled and spun tirelessly, attacking from all sides in determination to find some sort of opening. Beren sidestepped quickly and precisely, the sai lying across his forearms catching each strike. He ducked and dodged, elusive as mercury. Sigyn didn't think that she had ever seen him move so elegantly.

Sif feinted to the right and went in for an upwards thrust straight into his torso. In the blink of an eye, Beren flipped his sai into an attacking grip, caught the blade between the prongs, and twisted. The staff flew out of Sif's hands. Her eyes widened in shock and quick as a dart, he brought his arms up and pointed both main prongs to opposite sides of her throat. Sif stilled, then sighed. "Point to you," she said grudgingly.

Sigyn couldn't help but feel awed. She was certain she didn't look nearly as graceful or threatening as Beren had just been when using the exact same weapons.

Before she could turn and sneak away unnoticed, Sif spotted her on the way to pick her longstaff back up. "Lady Sigyn!" she called out, smiling a delighted and devious grin.

Beren jumped up and whirled around as if he had been stung. "My lady!" he exclaimed, blushing and scrambling to straighten up. "I – I didn't realize you would be coming today."

"No, it's fine," Sigyn replied, brushing off his panic. She looked down, feeling unwilling to go towards them. "I hadn't been planning on coming here. I suppose I surprise even myself sometimes."

"Well, then I'll count this as good luck," Sif declared, striding to Sigyn instead. She grabbed Sigyn's shoulder, forcing her attention. "I requested that Bëorson help familiarize me with fighting against an opponent armed with sai so I could spar with you more readily. He's certainly a talent, isn't he?" she added, throwing a proud sort of smile Beren's way. His blush became more pronounced.

"Yes, I…" Sigyn began, then cleared her throat. "It was…astonishing. I was very impressed."

Beren blinked. "Do you really think so?" he asked, looking surprised.

Sigyn nodded, giving him a small smile. She snapped her head to look at Sif. "I certainly hope you aren't expecting the same skill level out of me," she said sharply. "I really can't compare to _that_ sort of display." Sigyn gestured towards Beren, who still looked embarrassed, but also a little thrilled.

Sif took it in stride. "I'm not asking you to; I just want to try," she stated. "I get the feeling he's been taking it easy on you," she added, jerking her head towards Beren, "and I want to see just what you can do. It might mean some pain and bruises, but it means you try harder and better to avoid them. You might not be a warrior, but when I'm done with you, you'll be able to _fight_."

Sif looked down at her piercingly, and Sigyn stared right back up. Her mind flashed to Loki, flitting in and out of her life with barely a regard to her, and her resolve suddenly hardened. "All right," she said, surprising herself a little. Sif gave her a satisfied smile, then began pulling her to the center of the makeshift ring.

"You'll probably get to see me practice some healing spells this session," Sigyn added in Beren's direction, who seemed a little taken aback by these unexpected events but stood back to give the ladies some room to train.

Whether or not Sif was right about Sigyn being able to fight looked a bit up for debate as she was continually trounced as the session dragged on. She had certainly been right on one front, though: the bruises and the pain were making Sigyn try harder, pushing her back up again and again as Beren looked on, a little worried. Getting up and sparring again slowly consumed her whole mind, and any thoughts about the trickster prince were successfully pushed out.

* * *

Loki looked up at the stunning expanse that was Yggdrasil for the first time in months. He grinned, eyes gleaming and heart racing as Ratatosk stalked up to him.

"Finally returned, trickster?" it sneered.

"Well, it took some time to ensure my comings and goings on here could remain secret," Loki replied, brushing imaginary dust from a shoulder. "But never fear. I can assure you the gatekeeper's eye will not be drawn here on my account."

The squirrel growled and turned tail, scampering up to an opening on the trunk ahead. "Then follow me, and I will show you the way to traverse the Tree." It dove into the hole.

Transforming into a magpie, Loki flew up to the hollow and perched on the edge. He looked down and saw a mass of dots and nebulous clouds glowing in the darkness, stretching along the walls on the inside of the tree. In the back of his mind, he thought that this must be what the world looked like to a god. He jumped and dove down, ready to unravel the secrets of the universe.

* * *

**Oog, so many scenes. Hope this chapter didn't feel too heavy handed in its pacing. If it did, let me know! I had wanted to start exploring Yggdrasil in this chapter, but there was enough to fit in before we got there that I thought that I was going to want a full chapter to dedicate to it. Or at least to its beginning. So you'll have that to look forward to soon, hopefully!**

**To the anonymous reviewer Loki and sigyn, who asked for a lovely and romantic wedding/marriage/children/the works for our duo here, I would like to remind my readers to keep in mind how the movie Thor ended. Aside from our two characters not neatly fitting into the stereotypical archetypes of romantic leads, I suspect events will play out such that they will not be getting a happily ever after for quite a long time. Not of course, to say, that they won't ever get married or anything. They **_**are**_** engaged, after all.**

**So tell me what you all thought of this chapter! I'm nearing the end of my winter break, and I'd really love to get another chapter out before school rears its ugly head once more (this semester sort of looks like it's gonna be a doozy), but I've got a decent number of thing that need to be done between now and school that don't involve writing a fanfiction, so I'd like to preemptively apologize in the event that I don't get another chapter out in a timely fashion. Again, thank you thank you thank you for the follows, favorites, and reviews that you all give, and even a heartfelt thank you to my lurkers, who are at the very least interested enough in my fic to keep reading it! Please give me any feedback, tips, or criticisms about this chapter that you might have, and I hope to see you soon!**


End file.
